Just Speak To Me
by Made.To.Write
Summary: Maddy Brehm is Seth's imprintee, though he hasn't told her yet, and isn't planning to. What will happen when she finds herself pathetically drawn to his family and his presence? Will he be able to keep his feelings from her, his family, and from himself?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N Hey guys! This is my first Twilight Fanfiction, as I have just recently fallen in love with the Wolves. =D I feel this is an awesome Dynamic family, and I felt that Seth is often neglected when it comes to imprinting. But what if he has and he just hasn't told anyone? Lets find out together what happens!_

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><p><em>Pathetic. <em>It's been my word of the month. Hell, word of my freaking _life. _ What else do you all a girl taking a job in a small town in the middle of nowhere, just because she wants to be near her first love who obviously wants nothing to do with her? Yea, I thought so.

My name is Madeleine Brehm, Maddy for short. I'm a recent graduate from Towson University (near my home; Baltimore) with a masters degree in speech therapy. I recently accepted a job in the clinic for both the Quileute and Makah reservations, after my summer long internship with the previous speech pathologist in residence during my graduate studies..

When I first arrived here two years ago, I had fallen in love with the area and its people instantly. Specifically with the one and only Seth Clearwater. I first laid eyes on him while I had been stationed at the reception desk- a task all took shifts working in; we were severely underfunded and understaffed. I was assigned to do a mountainous amount of paperwork for one of Dr. Damien's clients, when I saw him walk in. I recognized him as a friend of Kim's, a physician's assistant in the clinic. I had only seen him through our office door once before, but even with my altered view, I could tell that God had gifted this man in the looks department. Thank god he hadn't seen me, I'm pretty sure I drooled at the sight of him.

Gods, he was a beautiful creature. In fact, it seems all of Kim's friends and family were gorgeous. Jeez, spread the love around a little, would ya?

He came in that particular day with his usual confidence, but stopped suddenly when I smiled to greet him. I couldn't quite place the look he was giving me, but instantly I felt a blush creep over my skin. _What is he looking at?_

He slowly approaches the desk and continues to stare intently. I have the sudden urge to stand and I couldn't explain why. Everything after this point seemed like slow motion, his arms reaching across the barrier of the reception desk pulling me towards him, his lips sensually running over mine. I didn't think as I sighed and deepened the kiss, running my tongue across his bottom lip seeking access to his lips- and _Oh Gods, his tongue._ I didn't think until Kim pushed us apart. Or rather, pushed Seth back from me. A sudden urge of something I could only describe as vehement jealousy clouded over my mind as I saw Kim pushing Seth away at his chest. _He's mine. _Thankfully I came to my senses in time to see my boss walk out of his office with a confused and slightly disturbed look on his face. I took the scholding willingly.

After the embarrassing, and albeit oddly _sexy _encounter with a man I had just met, I saw him only hours later, waiting for me at my car. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as his body curled against my Prius, abs and arms bulging out of his black t-shirt. _Oh. My. Jesus. _ I swear I didn't breathe through that entire conversation, but somehow I had managed to successfully arrange a date (after appropriate apology for our first encounter- in the form of one of the most delicious kisses I had ever experienced) and left me with the feeling faint enough that I collapsed against my car when he walked away. _Nice view, if I might add. _

From that moment, I spiraled into a whirlwind full of happiness, love, friendship, and family that I had never known before. Not to mention my new world- _Seth. _ We shared everything together, our hopes, dreams, first loves. I couldn't believe someone could feel so satisfied and excited to live for everyday. Not to mention the fact that my internship had definitely taken an upturn after my first talking to- but I had quickly progressed from deskwork to actually having a few clients of my own. My life was amazing.

At that moment, I couldn't imagine my life without my Sun, my Seth, to be there by my side. He knew me better that I think anyone could, and I was grateful to have him in my life. I thought he wanted the same, until my internship started coming to the end. When we had originally talked about me moving back home, he was excited to continue our relationship long distance, I was too. However, once my departure was a month away, he started making excuses to not see me, slowly isolating me. I thought I would go crazy. Every second I wasn't with him, I worried that he was through with me forever, he didn't confirm my fears until 2 hours before my departure to Baltimore. _I love you, but you need to be able to live your own life Mads, you don't need to be stuck to someone like me, I can't provide for you what you need. _I called after him, my body collapsing, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I had to stay in Seattle two more nights before I could even function enough to get on a plane. _ I had lost him forever. _

When I had returned home, my parents simply shrugged off my depression as missing La Push, I didn't have the heart to tell them that my life had been shattered to a million pieces by a single man. I knew they'd be disappointed. My mom figured it out eventually , and I told her what I could about it before my anxiety overwhelmed me. I could see the sorrow she had in her eyes. She had always taught me to be able to take care of myself, and not let another rule my life. I had failed her, but I couldn't control my heart.

I lived my life in a state that could only be described as broken. I threw myself into school, but my personal relationships fell into ruin. I picked fights with my friends, and generally spent my time alone in my apartment or at my parents house. It took many months for me to be able to properly distract myself from the heartbreak I was facing, and even longer to hide it from my parents, or my dad and my siblings anyway. Though I couldn't be sure I was successful, they hadn't mentioned anything to suppose otherwise.

Interestingly, along with this self-isolation I had acquired a twist in my stomach that I could never seem to detangle. It made eating food impossible, and pained me whenever I thought of _him._ As a side effect of this new found stress ball, my weight had dropped dramatically. I had always been a thick 5'10 girl, but now everything I put on, even my 'skinny clothes' were entirely too loose on me.

Rarely, there would be days of slight relief. I would feel a little bit of hunger, or be able to sleep 3 or four hours a night. And even sometimes, I got the feeling that someone was watching me, and instead of being paranoid it comforted me. Needless to say I have questioned my mental sanity many a time.

Two weeks after graduation, as I was packing up to move back into my parents home, a letter came offering me a job in La Push; my previous mentor had retired and recommended me for the job. I told myself it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, but I knew deep down I would do anything that would make me closer to him again, no matter what it did to my heart.

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><p>AN What did you guys think? I have never written a chapter so quickly before. Just btw, Maddy knows what imprinting is, it'll become more clear in later chapters, but she doesn't know that she's been imprinted on. Anyhoodles, see ya'll soon!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hey, thanks for reading! I think this is the first time in my life I have written so much in two days, but for the first time this story won't leave my brain, and I feel as if writing it out releases it. Weird, huh? I'm not making any promises in this story as I have in the past, but needless to say it's coming off to a great start. Please review to tell me what you think, I'd love to hear it!

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><p>I couldn't help but smile as I breathed the humid Seattle air. From what I could see out of my foggy cab window, an opaque layer of clouds masked the sky and the rain had stopped just long enough to let a deep fog sink in. Much to the dismay of my driver, I rolled down the windows. In any other circumstance I would have minded the humidity as well, but I had long since come to terms with having to put my hair in a braid or a side bun to keep it from expanding to infinite proportions.<p>

Looking out my window, I was thankful for the gorgeous scenery to distract me from the growing lump in my throat. I could swear I sensed being closer to him. It was a feeling I couldn't name- an odd mixture lying between shame and relief. I still couldn't believe that I was willingly torturing myself, but I couldn't deny being back in the area felt like a homecoming of sorts. I quickly push this thought out of my mind, feeling my emotions taking the best of me. I needed to keep my cool until I was alone and safe in my own home. _Home. _That was another term that filled me with mixed emotions. My parents had asked me if my move was permanent and I immediately told them it was only for a short while, but I sort of left it open ended. When I was home, I could not imagine leaving the comfort of my family in Maryland. The entirety of my family resides on the East Coast. But now that I'm in Washington, a little part of me that I'm too scared to acknowledge, knows that this place gives me a sense of comfort that my original home didn't provide. I had always imagined myself as traveling all the major cities on the East Coast, a few years in New York City, then Atlanta, then D.C- yet that meager part of me knows I could be completely satisfied staying right where I am. Scary, right?

Along with my percieved transient future, I had never once considered sharing it with someone. Yes- there were fantasies of passionate affairs with native men on my travels around the world, but I had never had an actual relationship before Seth. The way it ended up seems to be the icing on my isolated cupcake. I now knew no one could compare to how I felt with Seth, and nothing scared me more than the prospect of being alone forever. I might as well have started clipping cat food coupons now. If I thought about this too much, it almost made me sick that a large chunk of my happiness could not be replaced simply because of one relationship with a man. It went against all my female principles! I just couldn't get his face from my mind.

Anyway, the reason I couldn't give my parents a direct answer was because I actually didn't have one. I would like to be able to say with certainty that this is only temporary, but the Forks/Reservation areas were the only place I felt that I truly belonged besides my family home. I told myself I had only taken the job to somehow receive closure, but I don't think there is any possible way I could ever reach it. Especially with the fact that I knew Seth wanted nothing to do with me, let alone sit down with me and discuss our relationship from two years ago that any other normal person would have gotten over by now. No matter what occurred in my stay here- I would get the short end of the deal. Even if Seth wanted to take me back, I would feel ashamed of myself for letting a man hurt me so much, and then turn around to forgive him. Yet on the other hand, I don't know how I could possibly survive with the heartache I feel.

The cab cIame abruptly to a stop. I looked up and realized I was at a dealership where I would be renting my car. Thankfully I was able to do the paperwork online, making sure I received the car I wanted. It was a black Prius, like my own at home. I had planned to drive it here, but I decided to leave it with my mother. Her car always seems to be on its last legs, and I knew they couldn't afford another right now. However, like me, she and my dad would be too stubborn to ask for help. And that's how I find myself renting out my car's twin. It was the least I could do for my parents; they had worked so hard throughout my college years to make sure I was as comfortable as they could possibly make it. Thanks to them, a large dent had been made to my student loans, and I never went without the necessities. And now that I was out of school, they had begun to look after all of my grandparents, and so I knew my mom would need the ability to make long drives safely.

My parents had been together for 22 years, both having been divorced from previous marriages before finding each other in their late thirties. They both had kids before meeting one another, my closest sibling being my sister who was 10 years older than I am. I told people it was like being an only child with 3 fathers and two mothers. I was closest with my brother Max. He is eleven years older than me and was the biggest help and most grateful to my parents. My eldest brother, Zach, lived in Australia with his own mother who had remarried. I didn't get to see him often, but everyone compares he and I. I personally don't see it, but most seem to think we are similar.

After completing massive amounts of paperwork, I finally received my electronic keys. I felt a farmiliar rush when I opened the doors and sat in my little spaceship. _I'll name you Enterprise. _It seemed fitting, after all my own car at home was named Starship. Smiling smugly at my genius, I quickly set up my GPS, and sped off to Forks.

Ten minutes later, my hands were fidgeting as a rebellious thought ran threw my mind. I knew it would lead to no good, but simultaneously having no will power, I pulled over and changed my destination. _His home. _

As I drove, my attempts to convince myself to change my mind became more futile. When I entered the boundaries of La Push, I felt a tingling electricity-mixed with the ever present shame. Everything looked so farmiliar- like the whole town had been caught in a time capsule while I was away._ Magical. _

I couldn't breathe when I pulled up to his home- or cottage really. The wood panels were slightly faded, and his green ford had a few more chips then I remembered, but otherwise it seemed to be exactly the same. I noticed his motorcycle was gone, and I let out the breath I was holding. _He's not here. _

I couldn't bring myself to look away. I felt a longing to walk into the house and lie on the bed I had fallen asleep in many nights after a long day of work. To feel two strong arms pull me close when he arrived home after patrolling. I would kill to feel is body warm my cold feet- it was one of the many perks of dating a werewolf.

I snapped out of my reverie as I heard a motor in the distance. I loosened my death grip on the wheel and wiped away the tears that had formed somehow on my cheeks. In all honesty I was surpised I was able to hold them in so long. I made sure to quickly pull away in the opposite direction of the sound, not in any shape ready to see the first and last person I ever wanted to see again.

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><p>I liked my new apartment, though it lacked a sense of being <em>home. <em>I hoped that it would come in time, but the stainless steel appliances and emptiness made it feel cold and somewhat unwelcoming.

My things had already been unpacked, as I had come earlier in the month to set up my apartment and show it to my family. Well, my brother Max and my Mom, anyway. They had been ecstatic to see the places I had talked to them about from my internship. Fortunately I was able to avoid La Push like the plague.

It was only four o'clock in the afternoon when I decided that I was officially settled in. After a phone call to my mom, and then subsequently the cable company who had yet to come to install the internet, I found myself hopelessly bored. I was completely anxious to start work the next day, and I had nothing to pass the time.

I tried reading a few new books on my Kindle that thankfully found 3g Service ( only if I held it above my refrigerator as I sat on my counter) but nothing could keep my interest for more than twenty minutes._ Hopeless._

I eventually resided to taking a shower in hopes of being able to catch a few hours of sleep without anxiety. I was able to trick myself into relaxation this way, but I woke up at 3 am and had no hope of relaxing myself to catch what few hours left I had before heading off to the clinic. The red letters of my alarm clock seemed to mock me as I thought about what my first day back would be like. _Welcome back._

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><p>AN Please try to read and review. Thanks ya'll!_  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Hey ya'll. Before you read this, I urge you to go back to Chapter 2. For some reason I had forgotten to change my edits, and I didn't realize until a few days after it was up. There's more character development and a couple of changes that will be seen later in the story. Just FYI. This is my first time writing from a guy's POV, so let me know what you think! =D

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><p>SETH POV<p>

It was all I could do to keep from phasing. I could feel every synapse firing as I pounded on Sam and Emily's door. Tonight was the bonfire, meaning that not only would the guys be over, but probably the elders as well. But in that moment, I frankly didn't care.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I also couldn't believe they had done this behind my back. Why had they planned this? Was it all part of some sick game to ruin my life? I didn't know how I hadn't noticed the signs before, beginning with the previous Friday. Jared had insisted I bring Kim her lunch she had left at home. I had verbally ragged him for being whipped, but I felt a burning jealousy that I would never be able to have that kind of relationship. While walking into the clinic, I noticed that there were maintenance workers changing the nameplate over the Speech Therapy office. I thought nothing of it at first, but looking back, it now made sense why Kim had quickly moved my attention away from the wing as she thanked me for the delivery.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." I growled, still banging on the door. I hadn't even thought of her being back as a possibility until earlier that morning when I felt the same tingling relief I only got when being near her. I didn't truly believe it then either. Reality hit me in the face when I drove home after working the morning shift in Sam's auto-shop when I saw a farmiliar black Prius and the most divine scent ever known to man-kind. Excitement pulsed through my body, but anger quickly over-powered it as I phased almost immediately as she drove away. It had taken me until almost sundown to calm myself down to approach the family about their meddling.

I hadn't been to a bonfire in weeks, and before that it had been months. Nothing felt the same anymore, and I could no longer bear to look at the happy couples and the ever growing amount of children around me, knowing that I had sacrificed ever having that lifestyle. _I had no choice. _ I wanted her to be happy, I wanted her to see the world like she had always dreamed. She would be settling if she stayed with me. She deserved to settle for nothing.

I almost fell through the door as Emily finally opened the door as I continuously knocked. She almost looked smug, as she sweetly said "Seth, long time no see! Are you here for the bonfire?" I could see mischief in her eyes as I involuntarily growled.

"Were ALL of you in on this?" I said, trying my best to keep my tone even. Sam would tear me a new one if I disrespected Emily. Under normal circumstances I would have understood. But I could tell she was playing with me. I walked into the house, knowing that Emily wouldn't and didn't answer. I stormed into the kitchen, successfully finding Kim and subsequently Jared. I knew I was interupting them, as they constantly flirted, but the fact they flaunt this just served to enrage me more.

"Seth!" Kim said excitedly. She ignored the crazed look I'm sure was on my face and continued, "I'm so excited to-" I put my hand up, stopping Kim and her spiel.

"I know already."

"Know what?" She feigned innocence. Almost facetiously. "Seth, I don't know what you could POSSIBLY be-" This time I couldn't help but cut her off.

"Kim, don't bullshit me. I saw her, I smelled her, I know she's here. Why the fuck is she back? Don't deny you have nothing to do with this. I know you, and I know you would have told me sooner had this not been the 'plan'" Yes, I did make air quotes. I had officially sunk to a new low.

Kim looked sheepishly at Jared, who looked more confused then I had ever seen him in my life. I could tell he was trying to decide whether or not to punch me, or hear out the conversation.

"Okay, Seth." She sighed. "When Dr. Damien notified us of his impending retirement, we had a conversation about who would replace him. I asked him if he was going to have one of his past interns fill the position for them, or at least the ones who had finished school. He told me he hadn't thought of it, and admitted that he had only one intern who he thought would be right for the job. It was obviously Maddy. He asked me on my opinion of her, and I told him the truth. Maddy is perfect for the job. She worked harder than any other intern I had seen in her place, and she seemed to fit in into the atmosphere perfectly. Not to mention the fact that I thought you could get your head out of your ass and get her back. God, we all know you imprinted, doesn't she deserve to be apart of your decision?"

"You don't know anything." I said, gritting my teeth.

Jared seemed to have a small flash of understanding "Dude! Seth, that's great! Maddy's back! You can finally get back together." He looked excitedly at me.

"Jared, get a clue." Sam said gruffly. "He didn't want her back, he wanted to 'save her from this life' or some other bullshit. He thinks by self-sacrificing he's only punishing himself." At this comment, chatter broke out among the group, and I realized our audience had grown. Family was filling and pouring out of all entrances, trying to say their part.

"STOP." I yelled. The kitchen went silent and all eyes were on me. "I don't need your help. I don't need ANY of your help. I know I'm the youngest- you have all made that perfectly clear since the day I first phased, but I have a right to make decisions in my own life, and I DO NOT need any of your help, your imput, or for you to make decisions for me." I turned to Kim. "You had no right not to tell me, or to do what you did." Her eyes fell to the floor. I then turned back to the group. "And the rest of you have NO right to go behind my back."

"Seth, we were just trying to help you!" Emily cried out. But I was already halfway out the door. I was debating on whether or not to run home to let go of some steam when I heard an annoyingly authoritative voice speak behind me. _Leah. _

"Seth." She said. I turned around and saw her 'don't fuck with me' stance; hands at her waist and one him cocked to the side.

"Leah, don't start. I'm not in the mood."

"Kiss my ass Seth. I don't give a fuck about your mood. You've been acting like an ass for close to two years now, and while I don't agree with how Emily handled it, she's trying to make you part of the family again. The only thing stopping you is Maddy, and frankly its selfish that you're punishing her as well. She feels the pull too."

"You don't understand Leah, no one does, and I don't expect you to."

"Don't understand? We ALL understand. We know what its like to want what's best for the other person. I tried to push Nathan away too. I didn't think it was real. But you can't live like that. Neither of you can."

"Thanks for the advice, Dr. Fucking Phil." I turned and walked back to my motorcycle.

"Mature, Seth. Very mature." She called out.

I saluted her sarcastically and sped off. Frankly, I am sick of being treated like the irresponsible one in my family. I work hard everyday, I pay my own bills, yet everyone has always treated me like I can't handle anything. It's ironic really. They think I'm just being stubborn by not begging for Maddy's forgiveness, and hoping she'll take me back so we can live in perfect harmony for the rest of our lives. Don't get me wrong, it would be amazing, but she had dreams and aspirations before me. I wasn't apart of the original plan.I couldn't live with myself knowing that I'd be stopping her from pursuing all the adventures she had desired. I'm not the guy who can whisk her off to Paris in an instant, I'm only a mechanic, I make enough to last me and to pay my bills, but I'll never be as rich and successful as she would need to live the life she's dreamed of. The life she deserves. It makes me feel like the walking dead everyday we're apart, but I know there's no other way to make sure she gets everything out of life she deserves.

And I'll be damned if I let my family get in my way.

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><p>AN Seth's a little feisty, eh? Maddy shall return in the next chapter. Don't forget to review to let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Oh my goodness! I'm back! I am so sorry about my MIA status, but as I'm sure many of you have experienced, a ton of things happened in the past few months, and I had completely forgotten to come back. But... as a "I'm sorry" present, this is one of the longest chapters I have ever written in my life, so I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think!

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><p>MPOV<p>

My alarm clock blared; waking me up from the sleep I had finally attained less than an hour before. My stomach immediately starting churning with nerves and its reaction to my lack of rest. _This is going to be a good day, _I told my self, in a futile attempt to pep talk myself to enjoy this experience as I should be able to, sans the fact that a certain werewolf plagued my solid hour of dreams. It made me feel more tired then when I had fallen asleep the night before.

If that wasn't enough, It took me fifteen minutes to convince myself to wake up fully and not fall back on my bed and sleep forevermore. I absolutely love sleeping. Even when I was little, my mom had to sometimes physically get me out of bed. But even still, there are many a baby picture laying around the house of me sleeping in the most odd places of my house. My personal favorite is the one they always threatened to show on my first date; I was passed out on the toilet. It was the cushioned toilet seats, what could you expect? But lately (as in ever since I've left La Push) sleep rarely came easily to me, and the only time my mind rested long enough for me to sleep more than four hours was on the weekends, where there was no alarm clock forcing me to keep a schedule. But even the longer hours didn't make the dreams go away.

Thankfully, Negotiating myself out of bed this morning wasn't too terrible, though I could only count on this ease for less than a week because it was truly the anxiety of being late for my new job that made leaving the comfort of my bed not a war in my head every morning. I swung my legs over the bed, and dragged myself to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I began a full inspection of myself in the mirror. Looking at my hair (still damp, thanks to my habit of sleeping with my hair wet) I couldn't help but sigh at its frizzy state that would surely become permanent in the humidity of forks. I ran my hand through my hair, hoping in anyway that I could save the waves that normally ran through my long golden blonde hair, but after seeing them mostly go flat from the heat of my hands… it was going to be a straightening iron kind of day.

Unfortunately, I hadn't added the time of straightening my hair to my morning routine, so I only had time to put foundation and powder on my face before dashing to my closet. Looking at my clothes, I chose to wear an dark blue empire waisted stretchy dress with a fly away cardigan, leggings, and my signature faux leather boots that cut off a few inches below my knee. Taking a twirl in the mirror, I decided my appearance was as good as I could manage this early in the morning, poured myself a cup of coffee in my travel mug, then headed out of the door.

The farmiliar pangs of anxiety ran through my stomach as I thought about possibly stopping for a breakfast sandwich. When I was younger, I was one to never miss a meal, although I was constantly diet, considering 190 lbs didn't look good on my 5'10 frame. Or so I thought. My mother used to call me an amazon, with my tall and slightly thick frame. I just thought I looked like a man. I took after my dad, longer legs (my favorite feature on my body) and no butt (I mean come on, can't a thick girl get some back action?) wide hips, rounded stomach and average breasts. It was furiating! Seth always told me I looked beautiful, and after spending so much time with him I started to believe it. It was only after my summer with him that I had completely started worrying about what I looked like, and eventually had thrown my scale away.

However, since I moved back home, I rarely ever ate, and rarely ever felt hungry. I honestly do not remember the last time I was truly hungry. Nowadays I just force myself to eat out of fear of starvation. All the enjoyment I once had from food seemed empty and superficial. All my clothes have become loose, and belts and pins have become a staple in my wardrobe to keep them to my size. Who knew one fabulously broken heart could be the cure to my lifetime of weight problems? Be careful what you wish for.

I stopped in front of Enterprise (my Prius fitting its new name nicely), putting my black purse on it's hood as I put my hair into a high ponytail. My hair, which had recently thinned out (it was still thick by the standards of most, but it was only half the size of what my mane used to be) was now growing back in more thickly. My doctor had said the cause of its thinning was from stress, but I could swear it only started to grow back once I accepted the job here. I took it as a sign that I'm doing the right thing. _Or at least that's what I'm choosing to tell myself. _

I opened my car door and plopped down on the seat, unconsciously putting my purse in the back seat. I knew no one was with me, but it had become a habit I couldn't break. I sped off towards La Push, where the clinic was for both the Makah Reservation as well as La Push. We had tried to lobby for the local government to fund for Makah's own clinic, as it was inconvenient for them to have to travel so far from their reservation, but it was quickly squashed. It was terribly frustrating, but we could only pursue the matter as far as we did, and the Makah never complained about their trek to the clinic.

As I traveled, I continued down the path of memory lane, which saved me from having to program my favorite stations into my car radio. Not that the only country station in the area got great reception anyway. Before I knew it, I pulled into the small parking lot; looking at the single floor white building with a small sigh out front with a Hospital symbol with the words "Makah/La Push Clinic" painted in red.

I looked at my blackberry- a necessary evil to connect with my friends and family back home- and noticed I was twenty minutes early. I felt a jolt in my stomach that aggravated my nausea, leaving my unfinished cup of coffee in the char. The paint on the building had were peeling slightly, but it still looked the same as I had left it.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the clinic. The smell that enraptured my nose would, to any normal human, be repellant; a mix of cleaning fluid and stuffy office. It was germane to the health professions, where antiseptic are on every shelf and hand sanitizer is used constantly. If this place hadn't been almost my home for an entire summer, I would agree, but the smell almost welcomed me now.

It was only eight twenty; eight thirty being the call time for all employees and nine oclock being our first appointment time. The wait room is the first thing you see as you walk in, though it was deserted at that moment, with multiple doors leading to various offices and departments. This made the waiting area less isolated that traditional clinics; it was nice to see various patients come in and out no matter who they were here to see. This made the reservation family seem all the more connected.

I was only standing for a few seconds before I heard the clack of heels coming towards me. A petite lady emerged from the door in front of me, her gray hair wrapped into a neat bun behind her head, and a conservative pantsuit framing her small body. Her tanned skin was distinctly wrinkled, though a youthful spark shone in her eyes. It was Lydia Smith, the general manager of the clinic. As a former registered nurse, she took her experience to make sure everyone and everything in the clinic ran smoothly. She could be nicest person at times, but you had to be wary not to get in her way lest encounter her rampage.

"Maddy! Oh it's so great to see you again!" She said, pulling me into a hug. I mentally thanked myself for not daring to put on heels, as I almost had to bend in half to hug her properly. She pulled away, but kept me at arms length while looking me up and down. "You're too skinny, I feel like I'm hugging bones." She said factually. I smiled awkwardly, and she continued, "Your first appointment isn't until 10 today, so that should give you some time to read over your files, and your office is right where Dr. Damien's used to be." She then took me on a tour of the rest of the facilities, though nothing seemed to have changed since I was here last.

Finishing in front of my office, which was adjacent to the waiting room, she turned to me. "Well, I'll let you get to work. And be prepared for a few people to stop by today to catch up!" She smiled, and added softly "but don't let it interfere with your work." I smiled at this, knowing her jovial nature couldn't outlast her inner mother-hen. She walked away, heading into another office as I turned to my own. _Oh my goodness_, I thought to myself. _It was so weird to think-_ _My __own__ office! _I felt a new giddiness was over me. Just as I was sinking into my own reverie, Lydia called out to me again, popping her head out of the office she had walked into. I turned my head as she began to speak (Or rather bark), "Not to ruin your moment, but I wanted to remind you that interviews for new interns start in the next month. So keep it in mind as you work today!" She smiled at me one last time before she disappeared once more. Ugh, that was even crazier. _My own intern. _It felt like just yesterday, I was in here doing paperwork with barely a clue as to all the things being a speech therapist entailed. For the first time in a long time I felt absolutely and unfathomably ecstatic! I turned my attention back to my door. Upon it there was a silver lined square, with brown backing and white lettering which read "Madeleine Brehm, Resident Speech Pathologist". I internally squealed for what must have been the hundredth time as I made my way in. Like everything else, it matched my memories, though now no books lined the wall, and the picture frames of Dr. Damien's family made the room feel noteably lonesome. I didn't think to bring my things for it- and I mentally made a note to go out tonight and purchase a few things to make the room more homey once more. I then sat down at my desk, pulling out my laptop and placing it on the desk while hooking it up to the internet service and its charger.

Remembering to read my clients files, I pulled up my appointment list that had been emailed to me by Lydia's assistant. Recognizing the first name on my list, my heart fluttered and sank at the same time. _Man, I really have to get in control of my emotions._

The client was Tyler, the son of Sam and Emily Uley, who had been one of my few clients during the internship. He had trouble adjusting to his teeth falling out, which turned into a slight lisp at age 9. Reading his file I saw that now that through therapy with Dr. Damien, it had been completely eradicated, with now monthly appointments to make sure he kept up with his speaking exercises and no new developments formed. I was excited to see him, since he had been my first patient that I saw true progress with, as well as to see him now that he had grown up a little more. I only hoped my interaction with Emily wouldn't be terribly awkward as I wasn't exactly sure what Seth had told them about our break up. This was an unfortunate side affect of being dumped. I then regrettably changed my phone number while I was still freshly enraged, and lost contact with not only him, but is friends and family as well. I told myself it was for the best, because I couldn't even bear talking to anyone after our break up. I was so devastated that I hadn't seen it coming, and couldn't bear the thought that anyone else did.

As the hour and a half passed by, a few of the nurses and physicians assistants popped by to welcome me back to the clinic, and I noticed Kim wasn't one of them. I was thankful for this, my morning would have its healthy dollop of awkward when I saw Tyler and Emily again. As my appointment with him approached, I not only became nervous about seeing Emily, but with my performance as a Speech Language Pathologist as well. Dr. Damien was more qualified than I, having years of experience as well as a doctorate, and I currently could only dream of being half as amazing of a professional that he was. Even despite the large amount of progress he had said I had made here, I couldn't help but indulge with my own insecurities, especially now.

My door sat ajar, and I began to hear farmiliar voices in the lobby. Recognizing them, I took a deep breath and walked out to greet Tyler and Emily. Ty saw me first, and ran towards me, immediately picking him up in a hug. "Tyler! You've gotten so BIG since I last saw you! How've you been buddy?" I put him down and he beamed back up at me.

"Good." He shrugged, answering my question.

"Good to hear. What grade are you in now?" I could have figured it out on my own, but I was trying to hear him talk in a natural setting.

"Fourth grade, but I'll really be a fifth grader once summer break starts!" I couldn't help but smile at both his enthusiasm and the fact that his lisp had become unnoticeable. The mother in me felt so proud of him!

I heard a light cough and diverted my attention to the adult standing behind me. I stood up and plastered a smile on my face as I greeted Emily. Her smile was genuine, and I was immediately put at ease. She had that undeniably friendly affect on people. I felt somewhat ashamed for how I thought this interaction was going to go down.

She pulled me into a hug and half-squealed, "Maddy! It's so good to see you! I can't believe you're back!" She let go of me and smiled. "I'm so glad you're here, I feel as if our family's complete again!" This statement made my heart break. She thought of me like family. It made me want to cry. I couldn't process it, or even begin to understand why.

"It's glad to be back." I said, genuinely smiling now. Tears threatened to fall, but I quickly changed the subject and stated "I see Tyler has made a lot of progress since I last saw him!"

This seemed to work, her focus now shifted to her offspring. "Oh, yes. He's worked very hard for the last couple of years. Though he's asked for you almost every session." She leaned in and whispered in my ear. " and I didn't have the heart to tell him you weren't coming back, so we just told him you had to finish school. And now that prophecy came true. Maybe I should start telling people I'm going to win the lottery in a few years." She smirked at her own joke. "Well?" She looked at me expectantly, and I gave her a quizzical look. She sighed. "How have YOU been? It's been two years since we've last spoken to each other, and now you look like you've been through a couple of wars and a famine." She eyed me. And I started to feel self-conscious. "A very gorgeous famine." She quickly added. "But seriously, you haven't gone on a diet or anything have you?" She paused looking me up and down "In fact, _have_ you eaten since we last met?"

I laughed nervously before answering. This conversation was turning into a different kind of awkward that I had anticipated. Yes, I had lost weight, yes it was dramatic, but my appetite has never been the same since I left here two years ago. I had battled with my weight all my life, so my family didn't notice and thought I just had finally conquered a successful diet. However my mom had expressed concerns once my weight once it began to get too low for my height, but I had merely gave the stress of finding a job and moving out the blame. I wasn't sure if she actually believed me. "Oh, you know I just started eating less, exercising more. You know, getting into shape!" I lied half-heartedly. I could tell she saw right through me and continued to eye me skeptically.

"Well, then. Speaking of eating, _and tactics of forcing things down your throat-" _the last part she had said under her breath, and I pretended I didn't notice "Our weekly bonfire is on Saturday, and I'm sure everyone will just be _ecstatic _to see you again!" Before I could protest she quickly added "Or you will see everyone pop in throughout your next few weeks and take up _HOURS_ of your time. Your preference." Damn, she was good. Lydia would probably kill me if I had so many personal visits, not to mention the fact that the Res had been without a speech pathologist for 2 weeks and from my precursory glance at my appointment book I knew I'd be booked solidly.

"Saturday it is then." I said softly, and she engulfed me in a hug. She clapped her hands in excitement and I could tell she began to plot something in her head.

"Tell you what," she began, "Why don't we have a little 'girls only' get together before the bonfire? Just the girls in the family- we'll eat a little dinner, drink a little wine- and catch up on all the things we've all missed while we've been separated. What do you think?"

"It sounds great!" I was genuinely enthusiastic about this. All the girls of the group used to be like sisters to me, and although Emily was throwing a lot of things at me at once, it felt nice to see her like this again. It made me excited to see what's happened in the other girls' lives as well.

"Okay, we'll see you then!" She said as she made her way to the door. "Tyler," she addressed, " be good, and you're father will be here to pick you up in an hour." Tyler nodded and Emily gave us one last wave goodbye as she left the clinic.

"Ready to Rock 'n Roll?" I asked Tyler.

"Yup!"

LINE

I could hear Sam's booming laughter in the lobby long before before my appointment was over with Tyler. There was no doubt he was chatting up who ever was on duty at the reception desk at the time; he couldn't seem to let go of his flirty, playboy past. Yet no one ever took it seriously, since it was more than obvious he had eyes only for Emily. It just gave everyone a self-esteem boost, and he was more than happy to supply it. He never laid it on too thickly when I was around, since apparently a certain member of the pack had jealousy issues, but he always managed to put a smile on my face.

Tyler ran out to his father as soon as I told him we had finished. Sam swiftly picked him up with a "Hey, big guy!" And swung him over his shoulder. As Tyler was still giggling and trying to get down, he turned to me. "Well if it isn't Madeleine Monroe!" He barked, using the nickname he gave me when all the reservation girls had curled my hair. I had warned them that my hair really didn't hold a curl, but with hours of hairspray, rolling, and curling irons they seemed to manage it better than I thought. My hair was really long, but with how tightly they curled my hair, it fell just above my shoulders, hence the nickname.

I smiled and answered "In the flesh!"

He grinned and put Tyler down, and pulling me instead into an air tight hug while whispering "Not much of it, anyway." I couldn't reply as my lungs began to give way, and thankfully he stopped squeezing and put me down just in time. Not before whispering in my ear "Now finally Seth can fix his attitude problem." I'm sure my expression was unreadable. How did I have anything to do with Seth and his attitude? It must have been a slip of the tongue. _He _was the one who broke up with me after all. I managed to flash him a small smile, despite being thoroughly confused.

"Well, I heard that you're coming to the bonfire, and all the girls on the reservation are just too excited to see you again- the boys too" he quickly added, winking. "So we'll see you on Saturday, eh?" He asked this walking towards the door. I nodded and waved. He gave me a huge smile before both boys piled into his truck and drove away.

As I reflected on my encounter with Sam and Emily, I became overwhelmed with how the responded to me coming home. They had no obligation to show me such kindness and invite me into their home, I was only their friends for a few months, and even then I was dating one of their own. They made me feel as if I had never left, and I couldn't be more grateful. It even made me feel mortified that I had cut everyone off, thinking they were all in on Seth's decision. _I'm going to have to make it up to them, somehow. _

Thankfully, The rest of my day seemed to fly by. Some of my clients were new, but most I had been previously acquainted with, or just heard of while I lived here. This gave me confidence, and by the end of the day by fear of not being able to handle the job and almost completely gone, though there was still an underlying fear of inadequacy in my conscience, waiting to strike.

By the end of my work schedule, almost everyone working in the office came by to introduce themselves or catch up, though all were careful to avoid Lydia, and through the grapevine I learned the reason Kim wasn't here today. Being a physician's assistant, she got a day off on Monday, and worked the Saturday shift in return. At the beginning of the day, I would have taken it as a blessing, but after the welcoming nature of everyone I had see today, I actually felt dissapointed that I didn't get to catch up with her. She was one of my closest friends during my internship, after all.

* * *

><p>Oddly enough, coming home was a hard transition. I am what one would label as introverted. I loved spending time to myself, but after being alone so long, working at the clinic brought welcome relief, and coming home seemed like too much of a let down. After forcing down a half sandwich and a few peanuts, I remembered I had promised myself to buy some new things for my home and office. I absolutely love shopping and being in public places. Listening to other peoples conversations, imagining their lives, as well as how a new throw pillow would look in your living room was definitely one of my favorite past times. Needless to say I am a strong believer in Retail Therapy.<p>

In my cart, there were a few picture frames for my desk (which I would have to figure out pictures for alter), and some bright wall accents to spice up my apartment as well. The large windows that it came with only accented the inescapable rainy season that was Forks, and I was dying for any sort of color in my life. At that moment I was trying to decide what color scheme I wanted to stay in before choosing some new pillows. _Maybe even rainbow? _That's when I heard a rather interesting conversation start in in the aisle next to me.

"_Because_, Paul," a female voice began,"it is very important that we start _fresh_ in our new lives together!" She sounded exasperated. I totally understood, I tried to bring Seth shopping with me once (or rather, he invited himself) he tried his best to act interested, but I could tell he would rather have been anywhere else in the world.

"I just don't understand why we can't use the things we already have. We both are moving in from fully furnished homes. All of our things are still perfectly fine!" I heard a gruff male voice say, almost pleading.

"And for the hundredth time, I do not want to spend the rest of my life in a house full of things that aren't _ours_. And to be frank, this is happening. You might as well get with the program!" _You go girl!_ I inwardly cheer-leaded. The man sighed, and what after must have been a 30 second make out session, he agreed.

"Now that's what I thought. Now, Black or White throw pillows?" She sing songed.

"Honestly Babe, whatever you like better." Woops, wrong thing to say dude. I could practically hear the steam coming of Rachel's head. Wait, Rachel. I did know that voice. It was Paul and Rachel, a werewolf and his imprintee from the reservation! I grabbed my basked and walked over to the other aisle as fast as my legs could take me.

"Rachel!" I called, catching her right before she was about to go ballistic. .

She turned around, "Wha-" recognition passed over her face as it lit up. I also noticed Paul exhale in relief. "Maddy! Aaah!" She ran toward me and we embraced in a long hug. "Omigosh it is SO good to see you! It's been forever. Did you change your number? I tried texting you but it kept bouncing back with a notice that the service had been terminated." She got right to the nitty gritty didn't she?

"Um, yeah. Not because of you, I was trying to deter a certain person from being able to reach me again. It was stupid, but in the moment so I couldn't change it back." I tried to say this with as much conviction and as vaguely as possible. She faked understanding.

"No, no, yeah. I totally get it. I thought I was going to have to wait until the bonfire to see you, but it seems fate has brought us back together." She beamed. I had forgotten how fast news traveled in the reservation.

"I know! It's crazy! But I'm so glad." I added and winked. "What's up with you?"

"Well, Paul and I just got back from our honeymoon." She said waggling her engagement ring at me.

"Oh my goodness! You guys got married, how great!" We hugged again.

"I know, I know. It took him FOREVER to propose. But, he finally did. Now we're furnishing our house together. Or rather, I'M furnishing our house. Men." She said. Paul waved to me and I waved back, I assume he chose not to acknowledge his wife's outburst. _He's learning quickly_.

"Well, if you need any help, I would love to help you out! I'm here myself for a couple of things for my office and apartment. But I would totally love to help you decorate your home!" I said, sincerely grateful for any opportunity of distraction.

"Seriously?" She asked hopefully. "It would be a huge lifesaver!"

"I would love to! Here, let me give you my phone number." I programmed my number into her phone and sent a text to myself.

"Call me anytime when you want to shop or decorate. And I'm pretty handy with a paint roller too." I joked. I could see Paul behind her mouthing "THANK YOU." and I smiled in acknowledgement. It really wasn't a problem at all.

"Don't worry, I will DEFINITELY be calling you." She grinned. I saw her look at her watch, and took in as my cue to leave.

"Well, I have to be heading home then," I hugged both Paul and Rachel. "But I can't wait to see you all at the bonfire!"

As I began walking away, Paul mentioned "It's good to see you back." And I smiled halfheartedly as I went for the check out.

It was funny to see how after two years, Paul and Rachel still had their stereo typical fights over the simplest things. There was no doubt that Paul would go to the ends of the earth for that woman, and she definitely knew it too. She obviously ran the show, but there was also no question for how much she loved Paul as well. I would've bet money to say that she would be talking non-stop about her great 'angry sex' with Paul at the bonfire the next day. It was so weird to see that despite how similar they still were, their relationship had taken some big steps while I was gone. Two years ago they were only seriously dating. I felt excluded after not being there for such big moment in their lives, but then I remembered that this family owed me nothing. They were just kind enough to invite me back into their world after I had left. I mentally berated myself for letting one guy get in the way of being in contact with other people I loved.

Entering my apartment, I mentally pushed my "woe is me" thoughts aside. My decisions were made, I have to live with them. And helping Rachel out was the absolute least I could do. After filling the rest of my evening with apartment arranging, I was finally satisfied that the aqua and royal purple accents did make the room feel homey. Mentally patting myself on the back, I decided to check in for the night. Then, the strangest sense of relief fell over me.

* * *

><p>AN OOooohhh. What could that mean, I wonder? As always, thanks for reading. Maddy will be mostly sharing this story with an occasional Seth. Next Chapter she gets to see Kim again! Woot! Woot! Please Comment to let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Here is chapter 5! Remember, I don't own anything except for Maddy. And I thank everyone for their feedback. Slight change: I changed her internship from a year, to three months. I felt a year would have been too long for Seth to have been able to let her go. Anyhoodles, have fun reading, and let me know what you did/didn't enjoy about it!

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><p>I woke up only to the sound of my alarm clock. No dreams, no nightmares, no tossing and turning. It was amazing how a full nights rest made me feel. I began to stretch, reveling in the heavy sensation. After turning my alarm of, I instinctively reached for the opposite side of the bed, only to pull back as I remembered my solitude. My mind had reverted to the last time I had slept this well, only there had been a werewolf sleeping beside me. And nowadays any memory of him was bad news to my attitude. <em>There goes my good day. <em>

I was so perplexed by this feeling, which then caused me to realize my complete lack of anxiety until I was on my way to work. I didn't feel nervous or insecure about myself, which was a large improvement from the day before. And I didn't even feel the need to freak out about the bonfire this weekend. I definitely had a worrying personality, especially as of late, and it I had completely forgotten what it had felt like to be so stress-free. _This is not like me at all, but… I could DEFINITELY get used to it. _

Even more surprising was that I felt hunger as I walked into the office. But of course I had nothing to satiate myself with. I ended up having to pilfer some mints from the reception desk. I only managed to pop two in my mouth before Lydia saw me and gave me a warning glare. I quickly mumbled something about morning breath and scurried back to the confines of my office.

After fiddling with the placement of my new books and picture frames, I realized I had no tasks to complete before my first client of the day. Never one to miss an opportunity, I began spinning in a chair, reminding me of when I used to go to work with my mother. I always drove her crazy, I just couldn't be still for more that a few minutes. My 'inner child' moment was abruptly ended by Kim walking into the room.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Kim asked, a small smile glowing from her delicate features. Realizing I had an audience, I almost fell in my attempt to stop spinning.

Saving myself only by standing, I make to look as if I'm inspecting the chair. "Just testing it out, you know, back safety is SO important these days." I say jokingly.

"Oh of course." She answers laughing. Skipping over anymore chair humor, I go straight for the hug. After we embrace, she asks, "How have you been? And how was your first day?"

"I've been.. pretty good!" I answer truthfully. "My first day here went much better than I had expected and besides my nerves, everything went as smoothly as I think they possibly could have. But I feel great today, for some reason. absolutely fine today, for some reason." I saw her raise an eyebrow. A _single_ eyebrow! I was definitely envious of that talent. However, I quickly changed the subject, not willing to begin a discussion about my rapidly changing mental state first thing in the morning. "But I did miss seeing you yesterday! It seemed like this place was less fun!"

"Oh, I know! I felt so bad about not coming by. I planned to, I assure you, but these days Jared never lets me have a minute to myself on my days off." She smiles, obviously unbothered by the situation. I scrunched my nose knowing her hidden meaning. I did not need images of Kim and Jared doing the nasty to spoil what little hunger I had today. Noticing my discomfort she adds, "No, no! Not like that!" She giggles. "Though we did to that." I faked vomiting. "BUT, he thinks I work too much and made a _very _compelling case as to why I should wait until today." She conceded, waggling her eyebrows.

"Kim!" I say, amused at her straightforward nature.

"What! It's the truth!" She argued. "And, if I haven't spoiled your appetite completely, do you want to go out to lunch with me? Our usual?" She smiled. I'm surprised she remembered. We used to always share our lunch breaks together at our favorite restaurants (One of the only restaurants in town as a matter of fact). It was a little rundown diner, but the food was fabulous and everyone who worked there knew you by name and your whole life story. It's ambience was amazing, and most of the time either Rachel, Emily, or Leah would have joined us as well. It was because most days this was the only time we got to spend together, just the girls. The wolves generally hogged most of our downtime. _Former wolf, in my case. _

"Most definitely, I'm starving today!"

"Literally." She added. I gave her a pointed look. "What? I can't _unsee_ you scarfing down those mints this morning. It was like a starved man saw food for the first time!" She said walking away.

"Did not!" I answered childishly, she only stuck her tongue out in response. Ugh, this weight thing was going to be the topic of many discussions. I need to gain some weight and gain it fast.

And just as I predicted, Kim did not let the topic rest when we went to the Diner, either.

"Diet Coke? Maddy, please tell me you aren't doing this to me on purpose." She looked concerned. It unnerved me.

"Kim, I always drink Diet Coke and I'm not anorexic. I just haven't really been hungry in a long time." _Since I left here, actually. _I wanted to add. "But that is _definitely _not the case today. I'm about to chew my own arm off!" I added as I eyed the menu.

"Hmm… well then, you should probably let me run a couple of tests on y-"

"Whoa, whoa! Kim. I am so fine! Do not worry about me! In fact," I started, and winked at her. "You have to tell me about you! How's Jared. Have you guys gotten married yet?"

"No!" She said, sounding frustrated, though I'm glad she went along with the subject change. "We still haven't set a date yet. It's been two years, Maddy! He keeps saying he wants to make sure I'm still ok with giving up going to Med School, and how he doesn't want to be the one who stops me from being all that I can be, blah, blah, blah." She finished exasperated. "But to tell you the truth, going back to school after working these last couple of years seems so pointless. I love my job, and I want to start a family! But he won't even dream of doing that either until we're married. I'm in a trap." Wow, that was a lot. "Oh, Maddy I didn't mean to drop that on you all at one time-"

"No, no. I totally get it. You're just going to have to work some old-fashioned imprint magic." I said, smiling.

"I'm trying to, he's just being a really tough cookie."

We were both referring to the fact that the wolves (who have imprinted) wanted nothing more for their imprintees than to make sure they were happy. Emily used to tell us the story of how she got Sam to propose, who was similarly dragging his feet to have kids so soon after marriage. But after a little persuasion and insistence that having a child would bring her the upmost happinesss, Sam was helpless but to accommodate her.

"Well, we'll just need to find a glass of milk big enough to dunk him in!" The mention of cookies only made me hungrier.

Kim rolled her eyes at my lame joke. "It's good to know you haven't changed." She smiled.

"I try." I shrugged my shoulders, laughing.

Our drinks came, interrupting our conversation. I ordered the fattiest thing I could find on the menu, which seemed to somewhat satisfy Kim, _thank God. _Suddenly dying of thirst as well, I drank almost have of my diet coke immediately, though I did notice it tasted strangely like regular. I saw our waitress smile out of peripheral vision. _Jeez, would everyone get off my back?_ I immediately took it back. Albeit annoying, everyone just had my best interest at heart. Which was strangely amazing seeing how short of a period I spent here. I seemed to be falling back into place so easily. This included a very large exception, but I chose to ignore it for the moment.

Just in time, Katherine, our waitress delivered our food with quite a satisfied smile. I stare at my cheeseburger with jalepeno poppers on the side, as she finally takes a minute to say hello. She used to see both Kim and I everyday, as she always had the lunch shift. She, along with her husband, owned and operated the diner. He was happily stationed in the kitchen, while she served and counseled every customer she came across. She was especially inept at giving her perspective on everyone's love lives.

"It's so good to see you two girls here together again! I feel like we're having a mini-reunion. How've you been?" She asked turning to me.

"Oh, you know. The same really. I just finished school, and a job opened up here so-" She abruptly cut me off.

"Oh! That is so _great. _I thought you were only here for a visit. But it's permanent, eh? I am so excited. I always knew you'd be back you know? Especially with that hunk of a boyfriend of yours following you around like a love-sick puppy. I tell ya, if I was about twenty years younger I'd-" She also had the knack of interrupting people, but so did her husband.

"Hey, I can hear you Kate!" Her husband Eddie shouted on the kitchen, mock jealousy on his face.

"Don't mind us and our girl talk Ed! Get to cooking!" She smiled widely at him. They are so cute. They are the epitome of true love; it's obvious they've been together forever, and they still manage to make each other smile. "How is that ol' boyfriend of yours anyhow?" She asked, a sparkle in her eye. _Uh, oh. This just got awkward. _

"Oh, well, um…" words seemed to be failing me. I could feel a blush of embarrassment flush over my body as I tried to explain. "I…um, don't have one, anymore. We, well he..." I managed to get out. Why am I so embarassed about this? It happened almost two years ago, and any other sane person would have totally forgotten about it. I felt ridiculous.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She paused in thought. "Strange, you two reminded me of… well, nevermind. Men are idiots. Right Ed?" She yelled the last phrase over to the kitchen.

"Yes, honey." Eddie replied automatically. Katherine let out a laugh.

"See? What did I tell ya? Plus, the res seems to be filled to the brim these days with good looking men. Plenty of fish in the sea, I always say." She patted my hand and sauntered away. I looked up at Kim, who seemed to be just as flustered as I was.

"Maddy, I'm so sorry you had to have that conversation. Most people on the rez, _how do I put this- _don't actually know that you two have broken up. Seth didn't really make it public, and therefore no one else felt comfortable being the bearer of bad news. So almost everyone knows you went home, just not the details of what happened. Heck, I don't even know the details of what happened, to tell you the truth."

"He didn't tell you guys about it? After? Or even _before_, maybe?" My curiosity getting the better of me.

"Oh, no. We were definitely blindsided. All of a sudden it was like 'Hey, when is Maddy going to come to visit' and then he was all like 'never, we broke up.' We all knew he had to be the one who had done it, only a crazy person would have broken up with you. Besides, we would have read you like a book when you said goodbye if you had any intentions of leaving. It was so weird, because after you left it took him like 6 months to come back to the bonfires, and even now he only comes once every blue moon."

_Oh, I SO want to pressure her to say more. _Thinking we could gossip more before the bonfire on Saturday, I decided it was best we push the conversation off. "Well, what's done is done. And I promise you that I am totally fine, with... _everything. _It's been two years, after all, and any sane person would have been able to get over a summer romance by now!" I added the last part with a slight hint of a laugh, though I'm sure it sounded almost manic. _I am definitely going nuts. _

Kim looked hesitant to let it go, but said "Alright, if you say so."

"Trust me, I know so." I smiled at her reassuringly.

The rest of lunch seemed to go the same, talking about Rachel's wedding, Emily's newborn, and other various snippets of gossip from around the rez. She also mentioned Seth on more that one occasion, and knowing Kim, I'm sure it wasn't an accident. I didn't mind, considering I was hanging on her every word concerning Seth. Sort of like a love-sick puppy. _Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic!_ I was ecstatic to hear that Seth stopped attending family events regularly, which bade well for me in the event that I would have to see him at the bonfire. Because if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I was not ready to see him again.

* * *

><p>Strangely enough, the rest of the week seemed to fly by painlessly. Kim and I went to lunch everyday, with Rachel joining us once. Of course there were comments and looks about my weight, but they both tried their best to not be overbearing (though Katherine never really held back, about <em>anything<em>). Neither Renesmee or Leah had managed to stop by yet, though I learned because Jacob finally told her he imprinted and the had been rather, _busy. _Leah on the other hand, was just Leah, and goodness knows where she was and what she was doing, though I was really excited to see her again.

Also, Rachel and I met up one night over dinner and discussed her ideas for decorating her new house. We decided the first thing to do was the house painting, and I agreed to come over on Sunday to buy paint and get started with it all. I was glad for this distraction, as I was both excited for and dreading the bonfire this Saturday. I was thinking I could drink an extra glass of wine at dinner with the girls before the whole clan came over, but then remembered I no longer had someone to drive me home._ Crap, this kid is even ruining my possibility of drunkenness. _I laughed at the thought of referring to Seth as a kid. There is absolutely no way he could be anything other then a red-blooded man. I internally slapped myself. _Get a hold of yourself girl!_ _This is no time to be imagining your sexual exploits with your former boyfriend!_

_ Was he even my boyfriend? Back then, anyway. _I asked myself on my lonesome Friday night. I was parked in front of the television on my couch, wrapped in my comforter when the thought occurred to me. In our entire three month relationship, we both managed to not define whatever our relationship had become. Others did, of course, but I never brought it up or discussed it with him. I always felt that everything was going so perfectly, I didn't want to make it awkward with the 'What do you really think of me?' conversation. It was both selfish and masochistic really. Inevitably, the conversation never occurred, I had just assumed we would have continued our relationship long distance, and even had started applying to graduate schools in Washington so there wouldn't be an entire continent between us. But all roads paved with good intentions- get crushed by one quick blow at the airport. That's how it seemed to go for me anyway.

Unfortunately, I couldn't even cry over the Notebook and Ben and Jerry's because the knot in my stomach had returned as soon as I woke up on Thursday morning. Which happened to be only two hours after I had finally been able to fall asleep. Ever since, even the thought of eating my feelings of Chunky Monkey made be want to curl over in disgust. _Damn, maybe Kim_ SHOULD_ run some tests. _This was especially distressing, because Emily's cooking was absolutely fabulous, and the way things were going I wouldn't be able to feast on her dinner as much as I would like.

Just beginning to fully wallow in self pity, I saw my blackberry begin to flash. I didn't recognize the number on the caller ID, but I still hesitantly answered. "Hello?"

"Well if it isn't Maddy Brehm, my partner in crime." I heard a feminine voice laugh. It was Leah. _Thank God. _

Smiling, I answered "I'm sorry to say Leah, but the way things are going, I'm not _quite_ the bad-ass I used to be." Leah and I had a surprisingly strong connection. I loved Kim and Rachel, but out of our little friend group, it was Leah and I who got along most. She brought out the fun, wild girl in me, and while Kim, and especially Rachel had their bad girl moments, they had always been more focused on their home lives. It was undeniable, being an imprint apparently. Leah and I were both free and single, well just free on my part (I was still in college after all), and we always had a fabulous time trying to help her pick up men, or even giggling watching reality TV shows. Not that she would ever admit to watching and discussing the Real Housewives with me. Seth had always hated when I was away from him to hang out with Leah, but it was definitely nice to have someone to always count on for a girl's night. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

"Nonsense, nonsense! We will always be bad-ass motherfuckers- at heart anyway. It's in our blood!" I chuckled at her familiar abrasiveness. "Anyway, what'cha doing right now?" She asked eagerly.

"You mean besides curled up on my couch, watching reality TV shows?"

"So... girls night in then?"

"Hells to the yeah." I giggled giving her my new address.

"Don't sound so excited. See you in ten." And she hung up. I felt giddy at seeing Leah again, not even bothering to think about how she got my number. However, I felt a little hesitant. Not ever going through a break up before (not that you could call it that), I didn't know what the rules were. Was it appropriate to hang out with you ex-whatever-we-were's sister? I quickly shook my head and told myself I wouldn't care. Seth didn't control me, we haven't had any contact in a long time, and I would therefore not let him stop me from hanging out with other people I well as missing him, I missed his family and the friends I had made here too.

There we go with the craziness again. One minute I say I miss him, the next I feel spiteful. I sincerely hoped this 'woman scorned' attitude would eventually fade so I could just enjoy life. _Well then you probably shouldn't have moved back to La Pu-_ Ugh! I hated my conscious so much.

Thankfully Hearing a knock on the door, I rose out of my coma on the couch, and greeted a smiling Leah, holding up a bottle of wine in her hand. "Just like old times!" She said barging into the apartment.

"_Come on in._" I said, under my breath. She winked at me, and I remembered to be careful about her crazy sense of hearing. _Ah the joys of hanging with wolves._

Closing the door, I turned to see Leah already hogging half of the couch with her remote in hand, drinking the wine directly of the bottle. "Would you like me to get you a glass?" I asked, smirking.

"How many time have we shared a bottle of wine like this?" She said, looking at me if I had two heads.

Sitting on the opposite side of the couch, I pulled the covers over me and explained "Well, the last time we did this, we were young and giggly." I smiled. I could feel her body already making me too warm.

"Well, I'm still young. And your still giggly, I'm sure." She handed me the bottle.

"Just me?" I asked, referring to the one time I've seen her partake in my giggling.

"You pinky swore you would never mention that again!" She said, faking true anger.

"It's not my fault that the mere mention of Ryan Gosling's man parts turn you into a 13 year old girl!"

"He is my type." She mused. "Though I don't need Ryan Gosling anymore." She sighed. "I have my own man now." She said, looking at me with a large smile on her face.

"Leah, you dirty, dirty girl!" I fake waggled my finger at her. I pulled myself over the covers. "When? Who? How? Is he hot? Does he have brothers?" I asked excitedly.

She put a finger over my lips effectively quieting me. She began giggling. Seriously, it's like seeing pigs fly. "His name's Nathan. He lives on the res, he's a cop. And I met him when he pulled me over one day." I could see a sparkle in her eye.

"Details! Please?" I almost shouted at her.

"Well I was on my way home from one of the bonfires about six months ago, and I was driving home. I was pissed off at my brother for being a dick to everyone, and I had just come from giving him my two cents."

"Naturally."

"So, in my distracted state, I didn't realize I was going about eighty in a thirty mile zone on one of the La Push backroads."

"Leah! That is so dangerous!" I scolded.

"Hey, I'm a wolf remember? So anyway, of course I get pulled over, which only serves to fuel my anger more. And then this, very sexy cop if I may add, strolls up to my window and just as I'm about to give him a piece of my mind- BAM!" She smacked her hands together, causing me to almost fall of the couch "It happened. I fell in love. I almost jumped on him right then had he not been trying to give me a ticket. I have never been so forward in my life! Which is saying a lot."

I froze, trying to comprehent. "Wait a minute, YOU IMPRINTED?" I tackled her on the couch in a hug. "Leah! That is SO GREAT. I am SO happy for you! AaH!" Of course as for wrestling me off, Leah was very successful.

"Get off me, you fool!" She was giggling again.

"You didn't even know if that could happen! How amazing is this?"

"It's pretty amazing." She agreed.

"Then why are you here?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?" She looked genuinely confused.

"Girl." I gave her a look. "Why are you not spending your friday night with your man?"

"We used to have girls nights when you were with Seth too!" She said.

"True, but of course, I wasn't Seth's imprint." I stated. Leah mumbled something. I thought it was 'Yeah, right' but that was impossible. There was no way Seth could have imprinted on me and dumped me like nothing had ever happened. Right?

"Well, I can say I definitely didn't get a ticket." She smirked at me.

"What does he look like? Does he compare to the other wolves?"

"I seriously thought he was a wolf in hiding. I mean _MAN_ they must have modeled our boys from someone in his bloodline, cuz DAMN!"

"That rhymed." I interjected, she glared at me for ruining her moment. _Obsessive already, much?_

_"_Anyway, he's gorgeous; Deep brown eyes and skin, strong jaw, muscles coming out of places you wouldn't believe- and _tall." _I totally got it. It was hard to find someone tall enough for both of us. Especially for Leah, because she had a particular love affection for stilettos. I was a little to clumsy for them, but I tried. "I'm not gonna lie, I feel like I don't deserve him sometimes. He loves everything about me, my attitude, talking back, my, how do you put it? Yes, _straight-forward_ nature. All of it. He's the captain of the Leah Crazy-Train!"

"Leah, you are _not _crazy." I assured her. "You just say what's on your mind." I told her politely. I heard her choke on her wine. "I'm serious!" I said, swatting her side. "Everyone respects it, just not to your face. So, how does Nathan fit in with the guys?"

"Surprisingly amazing. He knows about the whole wolf thing, but is obviously _not_ a wolf. But from working out he still has all the metabolism they do, so they love eating together. He also knows Charlie through police work; he is basically one of the gang now!"

"I am so happy for you." I told her seriously. And she patted my hand in a very un-Leah like fashion. "Leah, why do you have to be so warm! I'm burning up in here!" I dramatically threw off my covers in her direction.

"Hey, hey, just because I'm not one of the hot wolf boys, doesn't mean I don't have to deal with the same problems. It's not bad, I'm just... what does Kim call Jared? Comforting, yea that's it."

"Comforting my ass! I'm sweating like a pig here." I get up to adjust the thermostat. As I walk down the hall by myself, I can't get rid of this nagging feeling in my mind. Why do I feel like my heart is breaking?

* * *

><p>AN Thank you all again! The next chapter is the fateful bonfire, and I can not wait to write it! It'll be Maddy's version, the next chapter, but then I'll be doing a (spoiler) Seth correlation as well. Anyway, please let me know what you think, I live for your feedback. =)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Hey guys! I just moved into my dorm back at school, and I wanted to post this before class gets too busy. Thank you all for your kind words, and feel free to give me any feedback, comments, or questions. I'd be happy to answer any of them! Have a great week!

I tapped my palms on my steering wheel anxiously as I made my way to the Emily's house. My stomach gave a painful twist, reminding me of my doubts about this bonfire. Don't get me wrong, I was more than excited to see everyone and to have dinner with just the girls, but I couldn't shake off this feeling that _something_ was going to happen tonight. I couldn't believe for one second that Seth would stay away from the bonfire. I mean, if I had an ex (that I had specifically broken up with) that then turned up in my hometown with a full time job and a knack for hanging out with all my friends and family, I'd be mad as hell. There was no possible way that he could be taking this lightly. I could only hope he could keep it together to not make a scene in front of anyone.

Amazingly enough, the closer I got to Emily's house, the less nervous I became. It was undeniably odd, and it made me flash back to the beginning of the week when I had experiences a similar ease of tension. _Interesting…_

Finally pulling up the familiar driveway, I opened the back door to my car and pulled out the bottle of wine I had just picked up. I had no intention of indulging myself, but I couldn't deny Leah and the other girls with imprints their bonfire-fun. Before I made it all the way up the driveway, the door opened, a smiling Sam holding it open. I smiled as I walked the rest of the way, not missing the mischievous glint in his eye.

"Welcome, Miss Monroe, to our humble abode." He said, stepping aside, waving his arm dramatically.

"My pleasure." I answered, nodding aristocratically before giggling and walking in.

"The girls are in the kitchen." He said. I watched him walk through the living room and out the door that led to the beach. _They're probably setting up the bonfire._ _I wonder if Seth is out there?_ _Nope, you're not thinking about him right now. _Before I could walk into the kitchen, three women came bustling out of its door to welcome me.

"Maddy! Hey! How are you?" Emily asked, pulling me into the closest, tightest hug anyone could possibly have with a woman who was four months pregnant.

"I'm great!" I lied. As I held her at arms length, I told her. "You look great!"

"Thanks." She said, pulling away and striking a pose.

"I swear, I don't know how all of you manage to look so good while you're pregnant." I told them, hugging both Kim and Rachel. "I'm gonna be such a hot mess if I ever have a baby."

"I doubt it, you're probably going to be the most put together out of all of us." Kim said, laughing as she saw me scrunch my nose. "Oh come on, pregnancy isn't as bad as you make it out to be."

"Watch one of those TLC specials, and get back to me." I told her, as we made our way to the kitchen. We ate at the Island, as we usually did, the dining room being too formal for our causal dinner. The girls had dinner before the bonfires often, because sometimes during the event itself, things became too hectic for everyone to get in an actual meal, especially since the wolves would shovel in anything they could possibly get their hands on. We also had to eat in close proximinty to the kitchen, because with the sheer amount of food Emily had to prepare, she often wasn't finished by the time the girls arrived. "Oh my goodness, everything smells amazing!" I gushed, breathing in the heavily food-scented air.

"Sit, down, sit down! I'm on strict instructions to make sure you eat." Emily said, handing me a plate as we served ourselves.

"From who?" I asked, confused. I saw her mouth open to answer, but she quickly closed it and re-evaluated.

"Oh, you know, _everyone_. I'm sure you've heard it enough times since you've been here." Kim interjected nervously. I could tell she was uncomfortable. _What's going on?_ I decided to let it drop.

After a few minutes of conversation, I exclaimed "Emily, this is so good!" I had finished everything on my plate, already making my way for seconds.

"Damn, how long has it been since you've eaten? You look like you've never seen food before!" Rachel said bluntly, gesturing at everyone's plates. They hadn't even gotten a third way through yet.

"I think I ate yesterday." I said, trying to remember. I saw them all roll their eyes. "And I wasn't hungry at all this morning, but the second I saw the food here I was STARVING." I told them laughing. The other girls joined in, though Emily seemed to be thinking something over.

As I sat back down with my newly re-filled plate. I turned to her. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing, just thinking about something."

"Obviously. What were you thinking about?"

"I'll talk to you after I've thought about it some more." She winked at me. I rolled my eyes. Rachel then caught my attention.

"Okay, enough of Maddy's eating schedule. I want to know what's gone on in your life since you left? Who've you dated? Were they cute? Did they-"

I cut her off, smiling at her enthusiasm. "I wish I had more to tell, but life was kind of boring back home. I went back to school, graduated, did my practical training-" I trailed off. "Then, one of my friends got married, and my love life returned to its natural state. Non-existant." I added with a laugh.

"Oh come on, there had to be _someone_." Kim said.

"As sad as it seems, no. " I told them, trying to sound as not-pathetic as possible. "I was just really, busy, you know, there wasn't really much time for dating or seducing anyone." Everyone nodded, and Emily seemed to be thinking something over again.

"Hmm… Well I'm sure you just didn't notice that anyone was coming onto you." Rachel patted my hand._ Oh great, they pity me now. _It must have been awkward around them to interact with people who didn't have imprints. As much as I know their imprinting stories originally had some drama to them, at least they knew that in the larger picture of their lives, their soulmate would always be there for them. Us plebians had no such luxury. It was purely aggravating.

"That must be it." I ground out, faking a smile. Even my only ally wasn't here to save me, Leah. Not that she'd be much help anymore, since she too has bitten the dust to imprinted bliss. _Stop being petulant, they're your friends. _"So where _is_ Leah? I thought she was coming."

"Oh no, she hasn't had dinner with us since she found Nathan." Kim giggled. "Everyone seems to do that." Rachel added. "We-They, all imprint and then take a few months off from the real world to get it on." We all laughed.

"That's nothing compared to what Jacob and Nessie have done." Emily mused.

"Which is?" I asked curiously.

"Well as soon as Nessie grew up to the point of being considered an adult, and she and Jake had grown out of the 'friendship' stage, she had already enrolled in school out in Seattle. So Jacob has basically moved out there until she graduates."

"Isn't that a unfair to everyone else and their patrolling?"

"A little, yeah, but everyone understands because they would have to do the same thing for their imprints. Not only would they _want_ to be near them, but there are physical repercussions to staying away. It's sort of like a back-up system in case someone tries to reject it."

"What do you mean, physical reprecussions?" Emily nodded to Kim to explain.

"Well, when I was away at school to get my license, If Jared and I were were away from each other for more than twenty four hours, we both would begin to feel really…_anxious_, I guess. It's like you can't deal with not knowing if they're okay, or what they're doing, or at least interacting with them. He and I had to talk on the phone constantly and visit me every weekend. If we could have managed it, it would have been much easier to live together. But by that time, the pack was new, so he had to stay home and cover patrol shifts." She said.

"Wow, that must be inconvenient if you have to go somewhere by yourself." I said seriously. _If Seth had imprinted on me, how much worse would are separation have been?_ _Pshh, like he would have been able to break up with you in the first place. _I laughed dryly to myself. According to the looks I received from the other girls, I had done it out loud. "Oh sorry, I made an inside joke to myself." I covered quickly. "You were saying?"

"Well, we never really go anywhere without them. All our families and friends are within a couple hours trip, so we wouldn't have to be anywhere too long. Nessie was just the exception, for now."

"For now?"

"Well, not all the guys have imprinted yet. So we can't be sure on the ins and outs of what it entails." Everyone knew imprinting was always in the backs of the wolves minds. They all knew how much imprinting could hurt after seeing Leah's story. Even though I would pathetically stay with Seth despite his possibility of imprinting, there is no doubt it would be entirely devastating if and when he actually did imprint on someone. A little part of me was grateful for being saved from it before I was in too deep. _Fuck it, you're already in too deep. _

"Has anyone…_ else_ imprinted?" I asked, in a way that I hoped sounded nonchalant. Like_ Seth. How about Seth? Maybe Seth? Probably Seth? _I tried not to fidget.

"Well, a couple of the younger wolves have, but they're all only around seventeen or eighteen, so they have time. Brady and Collin and Embry are still single, and Seth hasn't dated anyone we've known since you left." My heart soared. _Maybe I'm not as pathetic as I thought. _"Though he doesn't really talk to us much these days. The guys probably know more but they don't really let us know much unless it's important." My heart sank again. _Crap. _

Rachel piped in. "I think they are all still really uncomfortable with the fact that they can read each other's minds without explicit consent. And a lot of time if they're hiding something, what leaks out isn't the whole picture, so it can be a bit tricky. Or at least that's how Paul explained it to me."

"Would anyone like some wine?" Emily asked, opening the bottle I brought.

_Damn, I could really use a buzz right now. _

"Me, me, me, me, me!" Kim exclaimed exuberantly, popping up to grab the wine glasses.

"None for me, thanks." Rachel said.

"Are you pregnant?" Emily practically shouted, as my eyes widened.

"Shush! Calm down! After the wedding, I realized we all got super busy, and I checked this morning and I missed a couple days of birth control during our honeymoon. So I can't take any chances." She explained.

"Oh you are _SO_ pregnant." Kim said, uncorking the bottle.

"Now, now, we don't know anything _yet._" Emily said. "What about you?" She nodded to the wine.

"Oh, none for me as well. I no longer have a designated driver, so I have to be careful."

"One glass of wine? It used to take you five shots of straight liquor to feel a buzz!" Rachel sounded disappointed.

"Yea, two years and like fifty pounds ago. At my friends engagement party I got drunk so fast, they had to escort me home at, like ten p.m. Who knows what one glass of wine will do to me." I giggled. "Not to mention the fact that I say everything that comes to my mind when I'm drunk-so I'll pass." They all laughed at this.

"Remember that time you pretended you were british the whole night?" Kim said.

"No I actually don't." I giggled feeling my cheeks begin to blush. Emily and Rachel laughed.

"Omigoodness, what did you keep saying? 'Jollygood, Jollygood! Seth, you are looking positively scrumptious this evening! I could eat you like a crumpet!" That was it. We all dissolved into giggles, and I buried my face in my hands.

"I can't believe you let me go on like that." I told them.

"Oh it was too much fun, we couldn't have possibly let you go home early!" Rachel said, still giggling.

"Who's going home early?" Paul entered the kitchen, followed by Sam, Jared, and a couple of others.

"Oh no one." Rachel answered kissing him. "We were just reliving Maddy's English inspired drunken adventures." Paul bellowed in laughter as he wrapped his arms around Rachel. "Jolly Good!"

"Oh god!" I said, faking exhasperation.

"Hey! Why weren't we invited to these drunken escapades?" Brady asked, referring to himself and Collin, who stood beside him.

"I''m pretty sure at the time you guys were barely out of high school." Jared answered, identically wrapped around Kim. "Not that we'd ever want to be anywhere where you two are drunk."

"I resent that!" Brady answered. "We can hang." Paul and Jared rolled their eyes. "Anyway, Seth trusted us, to escort Maddy back to the beach." My eyes bugged out slightly. I hoped no one notice.

"Why would he have to give you permission?" I asked, trying to sound as 'annoyed' as possible, though my heart seemed to be trying to beat out of my chest.

"Oh, no one told you?" Jared and Paul looked as if they were about to lunge at Brady. Before they could get to him, he finished. "Since Jacob's gone a lot, he's kind of in charge now a lot of the time. Being beta and all." The other boys visibly relaxed. _What the hell is going on here?_

"We better start heading out, everyone's starting to arrive." Sam said, untangling himself from Emily and grabbing her hand.

The other three girls led us out with their imprints, and Collin and Brady walked on either side of me.

"So how have you been?" I asked them, on our way to the beach.

"Same old, Same old. Living, working, looking for girls." Collin winked at me. I laughed.

"That was out of the question." I said mock seriously. "Figured out a cure for the common cold yet?"

"Nope." Brady answered.

"But we're _thiisss_ close to curing cancer." Collin finished, holding his pointer and index finger close together.

"I expect nothing less!" I said giggling. "Hey, can I ask you guys something?"

"Sure." They answered.

"How do you guys keep things together?"

"What do you mean?" Brady asked.

"I mean with Jacob staying with Nessie, and not being around much. How do you function without an alpha?"

"Oh. Well Seth takes over when Jacob is gone." Collin said. I must've looked confused, so they began to explain further.

"Seth was appointed Beta by Jake about a year ago. Despite being in a sour mood a lot, he's pretty good at the job."

"Why wouldn't Sam just take over?"

"Sam is trying to stop phasing as much as possible. It's why he gave the pack over to Jake in the first place, so he can be with Emily. The only times he checks in now is when we're fighting."

"So he's your leader and he doesn't come to family events?" I asked incredulously. That didn't sound like such a fabulous leader to me. Though I was biased.

"He's stopped the whole social part of it, yeah, but he was born to lead us. Keeps everyone in line, isn't afraid of Leah, super fair. He even covers our shifts if we ask him too. Though he makes sure everyone pulls their weight." It was wrong, but their adoring tone annoyed me.

"_Why don't you just marry him then…" _I said under my breath. I couldn't help but be a little peeved my ex was doing so fantastically.

"Jealous?" Brady asked with his eyebrows raised.

"You could have thrown the ex a bone."

"Oh, did we not mention, _he is such a jerk!"_ Then they laughed.

"Thanks a million."

* * *

><p>SPOV<p>

I'm a glutton for punishment. There is no other explanation for why I not only agreed to come to the bonfire, but to help Sam set up as well. Despite my beta status, it was no new news that I didn't attend family events regularly. I just couldn't seem to say no to Sam's offer when I knew she was going to be here. I had yet to see her face to face, besides the glimpses of her window while I was on rounds.

Leah called it was stalking, but she kept quiet when we ran our rounds together at night, and picked up the slack as I slept outside of her apartment, making sure she was safe. I didn't dare do this when patrolling with anyone else; I would never hear the end of it. But that didn't mean I didn't go crazy every night I didn't get to see her. I could have kissed Leah when she went to spend the evening with Maddy on her night off, it gave me some relief to know she wasn't alone.

I still can't believe she'd come back here. Sam always sad the women feel the imprint too, but after the dastardly way I ended it, I thought for sure she'd never want to come here again. Which was the plan. All the guys thought I was an absolute moron for resisting the imprint, but I couldn't take away the dreams she had planned her whole life around. It killed me everyday to be apart from her, but I always told myself she would be able to move on eventually. How could anyone disagree? No one had tried it to this extent yet. I knew on my side of things I would never be able to get over her, but her life would be better without me. I didn't have the right to destroy her life like that.

She wasn't making it easy on me either. I was an addict, smelling her in front of my house, listening to her breathing from afar gave me more life than I had ever imagined. I shouldn't have become so attatched so soon, but just being near her gave me more relief and a full night's sleep than I'd been able to have in years. I still wondered if she could feel the same, hoping that she didn't. She would have gone crazy not knowing why she had such swinging emotions.

Just as Sam and I got the fire roaring, Brady and Collin pulled up, along with Embry and Quil. They all waved and walked onto the beach.

"Lookin' good, _Sethy baby!" _I turn around to see Brady waltzing towards me, one hand on his hip and another waving in what was his interpretation of a woman. I couldn't help but smile, having Maddy so near has put me in a relatively good mood. "Pinch me Quil." Brady said, falling backwards as he noticed my reaction. Quil stepped aside just in time for Brady to slam on the sand. "Hey!" He cried, jumping up. "I was having a moment there Quil! I would have appreciated your support." Quil puts his hands up in surrender, still laughing over Brady's fall. "Well, I'm glad you are laughing, but you missed our dear grumpy smile at my joke!"

"What? I'll never be able to get the image of you as a woman out of my mind." I argued. "_It suits you._" I added as he ran over and punched me playfully in the arm. "You even hit like a girl." I saw him swing his arm back again.

"I'll show you what a-"

"Stop Brady." I saw Brady hit an invisible wall on the way to my stomach.

"Hey, Jacob." Brady said in a surly manner.

"Don't sound so sad to see me!" He said, walking towards on the beach. Brady scoffed. As Jacob came closer, he added "it's not like you could take him anyway." Brady began to argue back, but Quil playfully nudged him, and Brady took the hint, letting the matter rest. punched him in the shoulder, and he shrugged at let the issue rest.

"I didn't know you were coming back this weekend." I said to Jacob, throwing the last log on the fire.

"We didn't either, but I heard a certain someone's come back in town and I couldn't miss the show." Jacob winked at me.

"And?" I asked, there had to be a reason Renesmee didn't show up as well.

"And… Nessie has a huge paper due on Monday, so she wanted me out of the apartment."

"There's the real reason." I said, I could hear someone mutter 'pussy-whipped' behind me, and Jacob flipped the bird to all the guys there. Changing the subject I added. "Anyway, _nothing_ is going to happen. I haven't even seen her yet."

"I heard he's been stalking her." Quil said, under his breath to Collin and Brady.

"What the fuck? Leah TOLD YOU!" I rounded on them angrily.

"I knew he was in there somewhere." Collin said under is breath.

"Dude, I know you think you're keeping your thoughts to yourself, but all the nights you've patrolled with me all you think about is running to Forks and sleeping outside of her apartment like a lap dog. And we've all noticed the special route you take through a specific part of forks." Quil told me.

"It is _my_ job to make sure she's ok." I growled. "It's the least I can do." I muttered.

"I get it man." Jacob said putting a hand on my shoulder, I can tell in his eyes he's pitying me. That annoyed me.

"But he needs to get his head out of his ass and tell her." Jared piped up and said.

"Don't you have something you all should be doing right now?" I seethed

"I'll go get Billy." Jacob said, pointing and walking towards his truck.

"And we'll get the women!" Collin and Brady said, Sam and Jared following them. Quil looked as if he were going to try to talk to me, but after growling at him, he mentions:

"I'll go get Claire and Tyler from your mom's house." I sighed when the guys were out of earshot, running my fingers through my hair. I must've tried at least ten different spots around the bonfire, trying to decide which place would be the best when she came out of the house. Should I greet her? Did I want her to see me? Did she miss me? I knew what I _wanted_ to do, but that was out of the question if there was any hope left that she'd take a job in New York City, or some other place as equally exciting and far away.

Billy arrived before the girls came out. For which I was extremely thankful. Jacob carried him and his wheelchair on the beach, and set him up next to the fire. I greeted Billy, and awkwardly tried avoid his questions about Maddy. It's no doubt Billy knows about the imprinting as well, he seemed to know everything about everyone. I swear he phased in secret. But unlike how I would treat the guys, I could never disrespect Billy, so I ended up having to endure a thoroughly awkward conversation about you-know-who.

Thankfully, just as Billy started lecturing to me about the beauties of imprinting, Quil pulled up with Claire, her friend Sarah, and Tyler in tow. "Quil mentioned something about my mom bringing Sarah later. Lately my mom had begun helping out with Emily with her three, soon to be four kids. Finally giving up that Leah or I would produce her any grand-children in the near future. For which Emily was sincerely grateful. I knew she loved all of her kids, but with planning the bonfire, having my mom there to spend time with the kids came in jumped out of the car and ran over to me.

"Uncle Seth! Uncle Seth!" I couldn't help but smile at her as I bent down to her level. She had so much energy.

"What's up little one." I said. She breathed heavily from running through the sand and rocks.

"Is it true?" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"Is what true?" Claire rolled her eyes at me.

"Is Miss Maddy back? Is she gonna sing the princess songs?" My heart clenched. After every bonfire, Claire had begun to ask Maddy to sing her a 'princess song' which included anything from musicals or Disney movies. Maddy had taken a couple of years of voice lessons in high school, and had a really beautiful voice, though she would never admit it.

"I'm sure if you ask her nicely, she'll be happy to sing one to you." I told her. .

"Can't you ask her for me? " She pleaded. Claire was going through this shyness phase. And now was as good as any to get her out of it.

"Claire I don't think I'm the person who she'll want to talk to. Besides, she loves you. You just have to corner her and ask her nicely. Kay?"

"Okay, Uncle Seth." She said defeated. I felt a smack on the back of my head.

"It would have taken you two seconds to ask Maddy." Quil said irritated.

"Quil, she may be your imprint, but Maddy's mine, and I don't want to talk to her." I told him firmly.

"You are such a fucking idiot."

"So I've been told.

* * *

><p>Maddy's POV<p>

Talking with Collin and Brady was so refreshing. They were a hilarious duo and I was glad to partake and witness their interactions. They didn't get to talk with new people that often, and I was glad to be filled in on the wolf-pack drama. They were just telling me about walking in on Jake and Ness in the shop one day, when we stepped on the beach and I noticed _him._

He looked exhausted, and highly irritated as he talked to Quil. But despite his fatigue, man he still made my heart pound. His 6'5'' muscled frame was heating a fire in me that I hadn't felt in such a long time. _Damn he was_ good. He seemed to notice my presence right away, our eyes meeting. I averted them quickly trying desperately to cover my humiliation. _Should I have waved?_

"Earth to Maddy!" Collin said waving his hand in my face. I snapped out of it quickly, but he followed my line of vision and no doubt saw Seth looking at me. I began to blush. And I _never_ blush.

"He is such an idiot." I heard him mutter as he and Brady walked over to a group of guys on the other side of the bonfire. I turned slightly, so I could have a better view of everyone, only to see Sue walking towards me with a bundle in her arms. _Shit, I did not think about having to talk with his mother. _

"Maddy!" She beamed giving me a one-armed hug with the baby in the other. "How have you been?" I saw her husband Charlie walk up behind her.

"I've been good!" I told her, "just getting settled in to the new environment and job." I answered honestly. _And getting over the fact I wanted to dry hump your son the first second I saw him. _I added in my head.

"Oh of course, I'm sure you've been doing fabulously." She grinned at me. "You should come by our house one night for dinner." _Um, with Seth? I don't think so. Just kidding let's do it right now. _I cringed at my inner-weakness. "At the new house." She said beaming at Charlie.

"New house?" I almost choked.

"Yes, Charlie and I moved in together. I live in Forks now. We're practically neighbors!" She giggled, playfully pushing me on the arm. I smiled at her enthusiasm.

"What happened to your old house?"

"I was going to sell it, I was never there anyway, but Seth came in and bought it. His lease is up soon in his old one, and frankly I'm glad we didn't have to give up the house we've had so many memories in." I nodded in understanding. Even _I _didn't want to hear that Sue no longer had the house that Seth grew up in. He was always talking about how much he loved that place.

"It's definitely a beautiful home." I told her.

"Yes, well, I was originally hoping he was going to share it with _you_-" I could literally feel my heart break. _Is that even possible?_ "but my thick-skulled son of mine couldn't-"

"Sue, give the girl a break! She's only been here for a week." Charlie told her, putting his arm on her shoulder. I could see her visibly relax at his touch. They were too cute for words.

"I suppose you're right. Here, can you take Sarah for me? I just realize I have to go talk with Emily about taking care of the kids next week." She abruptly handed me the bundle in her arms and walked towards the bonfire. Sue was full of energy, and was amazingly well-versed in guilt. But you couldn't fault her, since her heart was always in the right place. someone to talk to." She handed me the bundle in her arms, and abruptly turned and headed for the bonfire.

"You'll have to forgive her, she's still heartbroken about the whole thing." Charlie joked. I cracked a smile.

"Don't worry, I understand. It was a surprise for everyone." I said, looking down at Sarah, Sam and Emily's 8 month old. She was precious, with dark brown skin and chocolate eyes. Sam was going to have a field day whenever she decides to date, it amused me to think of the arguments he and this little one would have one day. She was their third child, including Claire who had moved in with them a few years ago, as her parents moved to Oregon for a new job. I couldn't believe how understanding they were about her need to be near Quil.

Charlie nodded awkwardly, and mumbled something about finding his wife. And I was left alone with Sarah. She seemed really content with me, but then again she had such a large family that she had to have been used to being passed around. I wandered over to the bonfire, sitting on one of the logs set up. Instead of facing the fire, I faced the ocean. One of my favorite sights. I always told my parents my biggest goal in life was to have a house by the water, so I could just look out and watch the waves.

* * *

><p>SPOV<p>

I couldn't keep my eyes off her. The second I realized she was on the beach, my heart beat a mile a minute. She gave me an indescribably look as our eyes met for a second, but her gaze quickly shifted. She seemed embarrassed. Why was _she_ embarrassed? I was the one who broke up with _her._ I noticed that she looked like I felt, exhausted, but no less gorgeous than I remembered. She was much skinnier, but I had heard that rumor going around. I would have to make sure she ate more. Was she on a diet? Why would she do that to herself? She was amazing just the way she was!

Unfortunately, my mother had not been on the beach for a minute before I saw her heading her way to Maddy. I groaned, as Embry laughed at me. Everyone knew my mother could me meddlesome, I just hope she didn't say anything to embarrass Maddy further.

I groaned once again as I saw Maddy blush as my mother mentioned something, and Embry put his arm out in front of me when I realized I had started moving towards her. He gave me a look, and returned to the conversation we were supposed to be having with Quil and Jared. I attempted to engage myself in what the guys were saying, but my gaze inevitably shifted towards her again. She was now sitting on a log facing the Ocean holding Sarah in her arms. I felt my heart rate up as I felt an un-adulterated lust that I only found in my dreams. I didn't know just holding a baby could make me want her to have _my _child in her arms. Like, _right now._ She looked so happy with a baby in her arms, so _peaceful. _

"Makes you want to have tons of babies, doesn't it?" I was startled to realize Sam had come up next to me. He laughed. " I swear, I proposed to Emily on the day that she held one of her sister's children. That's when Tyler was conceived." I pretended to gag, and he shoved me.

"No one needs to know that!" Jared added, listening in on me and Sam.

"Well no one needs to see you ogle Maddy from afar either. You looked like you were about to maul her a minute ago." Quil added.

"No one _asked_ for your opinion, Quil." I stated cooly. But he was right. I knew, deep down, the moment I saw her on the beach; _there was no going back now. _

* * *

><p><em>AN Yay! They're in each other's presence again! Finally! Please let me know what you thought! I appreciate all of your feedback and questions! They make my day!  
><em>


	7. Chapter 6 pt 2

A/N Okay, so this little snippet is technically supposed to be the end of chapter 6, but I got fed up with how long the last chapter was turning out to be, and I didn't want to make you guys wait much longer for me to write this. So here you go! I wasn't expecting me to get around to this part yet, but I hit some inspiration last night and today, so here it is! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

><p>I wasn't alone for more than five minutes before I heart the panting of two little girls running towards me. One I recognized as Claire, trailing behind another girl who I assumed was a friend of hers. The latter was the first to speak to me once they reached my log. "I'm Sarah." She said. "But everyone calls me Sarah A." She said pointing to the baby in my arms.<p>

"Good thing." I amended. "In a year or two I'm sure that would get confusing." She beamed at me brightly. "Hey, Claire." I said to the girl who was standing directly behind Sarah A. Emily had mentioned that she was currently going through a shyness phase. I went through the same thing when I was younger. She smiled back at me timidly.

"Are you going to ask her?" Sarah A. asked her, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Ask me what?" I interjected.

"About the 'princess songs'" A gruff voice answered behind me. _Oh shit. _I jumped a little in my seat, quickly recovering as to not startle the baby. I turned to see Seth looking down at me, a ghost of a smile on his face. My heart began beating so hard there wasn't a doubt that he could hear it as well as I did.

"Here?" I asked partly to him, and partly to the girls. I felt my whole body tense with nerves. I definitely did _not_ want to sing in public, especially in front of Seth.

He let out a deep laugh. "I would say no, but I think Quil is going to die of stress if you didn't." I was too nervous to be confused, but he explained anyway. "The poor guy even tried to take voice lessons once you… left. It'll be a favor to us if we never have to hear him sing 'Part of Your World' again." He laughed lightly. I still couldn't breath. Why was he acting so nonchalantly around me? Why was he being so nice? It was almost annoying.

He then abruptly walked away, I assumed he sensed how nervous I was around him. _Crap_. _Now he probably thinks I'm crazy _as well_ as still not over him._ I sighed at my actions and then turned to the girls.

"Any requests?"

* * *

><p>SPOV<p>

I didn't mean to make her freak out so suddenly. In all honesty I hadn't even planned on talking to her. Like ever. I just saw Claire and her friend approach her, and then my feet began moving towards her automatically. I even pushed past Quil as he once again put out an arm to stop me. The strength of the pull I felt to be near her had taken me fully by surprise; we'd been so far apart for so long. And even just watching her from afar had me completely mesmerized.

When she looked at me for the first time, I saw her eyes darken slightly, but it was then clouded with, was that fear? I couldn't be sure. What I _was_ sure of is the fact that every millimeter I moved closer to her, the harder and faster her heart beat ran. Her blush indicated she was extremely embarrassed as well; she knew I could sense her feelings.

Why was she so anxious? I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach. I never thought I could give her reason to fear me so much. Shame and guilt racked through my body as I tried to cheer her up about Quil and his stupid singing phase. It didn't work, I could just feel her become more tense at my prolonged presence. I quickly made the decision to retreat.

Yet, this didn't stop me from watching her every move. In fact, I must have watched her more intently. I had to study her.

It began with her breaking the ice with Claire by talking about Quil's singing. I felt angry for a moment, but then I subsided when I realized that this meant she was amused by what I said. Which was the point, and I could see her acting much more calmly. _As long as I'm not there. _Things became dicey as I listened and watched Tyler come up and request a song. She beamed at him, and I felt jealousy rack through my body. _Pull yourself together, man. He's only ten!_

I relaxed down as I saw Sarah A. unabashedly attempt to grab his attention. He seemed uninterested, but I had a feeling she wouldn't be letting him out of her sights for a _long _time. _Serves him right. _

I then noticed Emily come over and relieve her from the baby in her arms. I had almost forgotten that little Sarah was there, it just seemed so natural for Maddy to be positioned like that. She almost seemed slightly uncomfortable as the baby left her arms, like she didn't know what to do with her hands. Almost immediately after, Sam announced that the stories were starting, giving Maddy the opportunity to reposition herself on the log to face Billy. Which consequently gave me a full view of her face and body. _Damn. _

Unfortunately, Tyler positioned himself beside Maddy on the log as well. _Too close, _for my liking. I saw him whisper something to her, and she looked confused for a moment before smiling, nodding and taking his hand in her own. This time I couldn't contain my growl, and I heard Sam guffaw from the blanket to the right of me.

"You better teach your son to keep his hands to himself." I seethed. He laughed again, mockingly.

"Don't be mad that he has game." He said. "He gets it from me." He half-whispered to Emily.

"Game my ass." I muttered under my breath.

"He got farther than you in one evening, than you have in two years." I heard Jared say from my right. _Why the fuck did I choose to sit next to all these damned couples?_

"Leave him alone, Jared." Kim said, looking at me pityingly. _I like that even less. _

Before my ego dropped to an all time low, I noticed Sarah A. move over to the cozy couple. She looked longingly at the two's hands, and Maddy quickly moved so there was room between the two of them. Tyler looked sullen at the interruption, but Sarah A. couldn't have been happier as she sat between them, grabbing Tyler's hand without permission.

"HA." I said in Sam's direction.

"Just an interception, besides, now he's held _two _girl's hands tonight. How many have you?" I chose to ignore his latter comment. I was definitely _not _in the mood to size up the competition I had with a boy who could barely read chapter books.

* * *

><p>MPOV<p>

It was turning out to be quite a strange night. First with Seth speaking to me without any sense of anger or resentment, then Claire and her friend pushing me to sing practically every song I knew whilst they (including Quil and Tyler) watched. Not to mention the strange feeling of guilt I felt as I held Tyler's hand at the bonfire. His request was too cute for words, and I couldn't help but be flattered at his crush. That strange sensation stayed with me however, despite all my rational thought. I mean he was only in the fifth grade, and I was in no way doing anything inappropriate. Maybe I was thinking too much about it.

Needless to say, I was grateful to see Sarah A. come up, her intent to wedge Tyler and I apart being obvious. I was also more than happy to oblige her, and even giggled when I saw her grab Tyler's hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world. _Ah, young love. _

And, with my luck, my night became even more strange. By some power of the universe, Seth and I happened to choose seats in direct line of each other, our gazes meeting every few seconds. I felt completely vulnerable, and incredibly awkward, but those feelings didn't even compare to the ones I felt one I realized that not only were we making too much eye contact for my liking, Seth was undeniably staring at _me_. I silently prayed that he didn't notice my flaming cheeks, and I was never more grateful for the presence of the bonfire at that moment. I tried to as slyly possible see his expression, but dodging the gaps in the flame only served to make me look like I was having an epileptic episode. Which earned me a glance Claire who was sitting a few feet away from me. But the same question kept running through my mind. _What was he thinking?_

I should have been annoyed, I mean if he had to say something to me, just pull me aside and say it to my face. This staring contest was entirely too childish for my taste. My body betrayed my pure thoughts. Because all I _felt_ was quite a deep heart ache, and a forceful attraction due to the intensity of his gaze. I wasn't expecting such an immediate reaction to him; this feeling had been coming and leaving all night, usually accompanied by day dreams of dragging him to the trees and having my way with him. I blushed and smiled even more embarrassingly at my traitorous thoughts. _Hold it together Madeleine!_ Damn it, he was too hot for his own good. I found myself looking at his biceps through the flickers of the flames. _This can not be good for my eyes. _

_It's totally worth it. _

Amazingly, I managed to make it through the stories with my vision in tact, but there was no doubt if Billy had prolonged his stories much longer, Seth's biceps and gazing stare would surely have been burned into my sight forever. _Not bad, not bad at all. _

Before leaving, I was sure to thank Billy for his efforts in telling the legends, they were truly fascinating, and every time he told them, there were more details that were unveiled.

"No, problem, my dear. I'm glad you found your way back to us again." He smiled.

"Me too." I said truthfully. He must have noticed my intense staring game with Seth, because of his next comment.

"Just give him time." His voice dropped so low, so as I was the only one who could hear it. "He hasn't yet wrapped his mind around you yet." _What the hell is that supposed to mean? He better get used to it, quickly. _I then considered this comment as confirmation that Seth was going to give me his two cents about coming back, and began to take my leave as quickly as possible. I did my rounds to all the girls and their imprintees, as well as the other guys (and met some new ones that I had missed in the past two years) , whilst carefully avoiding Seth, who had the duty of putting out the bonfire.

After managing to make it off the beach safely, I began walking lazily back to my car, mentally patting myself on the back for getting off the hook so easily. I was so smug up until the point I began pulling the car door closed, before a hand shot out and held it open. I managed to make it off the beach, walking lazily thinking I had gotten off easily. I almost made it to the point where I could have pulled off, before a hand grabbed my car door as I was pulling it shut. I jutted out of my seat slightly, my left foot hitting the ground at the sudden force keeping the door open. In my new position, I looked up to see the one person I was not ready to speak to yet.

"Seth." I said breathily. _There goes my heart again. _ He smiled at me. SMILED at me. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to-_argh! _"What can I help you with." I said, trying my best to not convey my extreme annoyance.

"I just came to say…" He sighed. "Welcome back." _Welcome back. WELCOME BACK! _

I sighed heavily, hardening my grip on the door handle. "And?" He looked genuinely confused at my question.

"And what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me that you're mad at me?" I said quickly. He looked at me strangely, like I had suddenly grown two heads or something equally as distressing.

"Mad at you for what?" He asked, like it was the most ludicrous thing in the world.

"For coming back." _Dumbass. _I wanted to add, but I didn't have it in me.

"I could never be mad at you." He laughed dryly. After saying goodnight, he walked away. But not before I heard him mention "-_especially _for coming back."

* * *

><p>MPOV<p>

"_Especially for coming back!" _I mimicked, doing what must have been the worst impression of Seth in the world, while on the phone with my best friend Meghan. She was doing her best to coach me through what felt like a big moment, though she was all the way in Pittsburgh at the time, working as a social worker. She had just graduated with a degree in Psychotherapy, but she loved what she did too much to switch over right away. Not to mention the fact that she had recently started a long term relationships with a man she had casually dated for quite some time. "I swear, he has to be doing this on purpose. It would be my luck that he figured out the only way to piss me off more is to deny me the satisfaction of an argument!" I huffed. Although it had been over two hours since I had left the bonfire, I still felt a raging fire surge through me, and my emotions were fluctuating just as violently. Just a half an hour ago on the couch I laid down and couldn't get up, but now I was pacing trying to stave off the dull ache in my chest.

As I tried to calm my breathing, I heard Meghan giggle slightly over the phone. "Honestly, I don't think any man would have thought that far into it. He was probably just trying to annoy you. _Which_- seems to have worked." She stated. I felt myself relax slightly. Maybe she was right, maybe it wasn't the big deal I was making it. Then an abominable thought ran through my head.

"Oh no!" I groaned, thoroughly emberassed at myself. I fell onto the couch once again and covered my face with a pillow. "I fell right into it!"

"What are you talking about?" I could hear Meghan's voice become slightly worried.

"Seth!" I moaned again. "He probably thinks I'm still head-over-heels for him! And he was being so nice because he _feels sorry for me!_" I felt tears form in my eyes. "I can't believe I let myself act like that." I blinked rapidly, water forming at the top of my cheeks. "I mean it's bad enough that I actually _do _still have feelings for him, but he doesn't have to _know _it!" I gasped as I realized what I had admitted out loud.

"Wait, are you admitting that you still love him?" She asked, surprised at my earlier reaction.

"I don't even know anymore! I feel like a thousand different emotions go through me every time I'm near him! Not to mention how I feel when I was away." I sighed, hiccuping slightly as I tried to breathe.

"Well, not to get all psychotherapist on you or anything, I think it's a good thing you went back."

"It is?" I sniffled.

"Yea, I mean this is the most emotional you've ever been since you came back. You were positively catatonic before. This could be good for you, like facing your fears."

"I hope so." I added, not feeling a whole lot better.

"I think you should get a dog." She added. I laughed, her distraction worked.

"And why is that?"

"Well I was reading this article the other day, and it was about how they use dogs to help soldiers with PTSD."

"I can hardly relate going through a break up with experiencing war." I added dryly.

"Umm... you relive the events of your past, you can't sleep at night- you may not have it but you certainly have some symptoms." I refused to comment that I was experiencing any such thing. "Come on, a dog will be fun. You'll get to name it something cute and take it on walks!" She sounded legitimately excited. "Just think about it, promise?"

I took a deep breath. "I promise."

"Oh. Before I hang up. I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Seth is such a dick."

"This is why I keep you around."

* * *

><p>AN Oh my goodness, this was not supposed to take this long, nor was it supposed to be this long. School has gotten me on a crazy schedule, but I think about this story every day! And I hope you all enjoyed it, and can leave me a comment telling me what you think! See you guys soon!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N Hey guys! Sorry for the long-awaited update! This chapter has been swirling in my head for a while, and now we're getting to the good stuff! =) See you guys ASAP!

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding me." I said, exhasperatedly, looking at the basket I now set on the floor in my living room.<p>

"What are you talking about?" Meghan asked, sounding annoyed at me calling her so early on a Saturday morning.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I told you I would _think_ about it! Not that you could actually _do _it!"

"I'm going to reiterate this, because I have serious concerns about your mental sanity, but I literally have no idea what you're talking about." She said, sounding slightly frustrated.

"_You got me a fucking dog! How can you NOT remember!" _I hoarse-whisper/shouted, while looking gingerly at the small yellow mix in front of me, who whined from my outburst. He was kind of cute, really. I heard Meghan laugh on the other end. "This isn't funny." I scolded her.

"Yes, it is. And I _didn't _get you a dog, Madeleine." She was one of the only people I knew who used my full name. I used to hate it when anyone called me by my full name, but I had gotten used to it by now.

"Well who did?" I asked, looking at the empty basket, the furry little one now sniffing out the entirety of my apartment.

"I don't know. Did someone abandon him? Is there a note?" I looked inside a basket.

"Yea, it says 'Needs a good home'. How did they know I'd take in a dog?" There were more papers. "Whoever abandoned him was very thorough, his shot records and neutering papers are all in here as well." I read through them. "He has been checked by the Port Angeles animal shelter, though if he was already in a shelter, why is he at my front door step?"

"Maybe someone in your building adopted a dog, but couldn't take care of it. And so they left it to you."

"Him." I corrected. "But maybe you're right." I giggled, seeing my new baby passed out in the middle of the kitchen floor. "He only looks to be about six months old."

"What're you going to name him?"

"Puka."

* * *

><p>SPOV<p>

"I specifically told you two to get a _female_ dog." I seethed, standing in the woods outside of Madeleine's apartment having phased back to my human form after hearing her new discovery. "She needs _female_ companionship."

"Oh, she has enough of that my friend." I hear Collin say laughing.

"We just thought she could use a _real _man in her life." Brady adding as they hooted wildly over the phone.

"I give you guys _one _simple order, and you-"

"Woah, woah man." Brady stops me. "I didn't see you knocking and running from her door over five times until your imprint woke up, trying to keep a puppy seated in his basket long enough 'til she saw him. I swear that thing almost gave me whiplash the way he would just make a break for the stairs."

"Poor Brady, defeated by a little dog." Collin said.

"Shut up man! I remember you being the one who played with half a dozen puppies this morning until we could finally pick one out." Brady countered.

"All creatures need companionship." Collin said, mock-seriously.

"Yea and you can-"

"Stop! Stop! The both of you! I can't take your crap so early in the morning. It's been a long night, and since coffee hasn't helped me since I phased I would kindly appreciate it if both of you just _shut up_ for a second." I barked.

"Aye Aye"

"Duly noted."

"Okay, you too better thank your lucky stars she's having the time of her life right now with that dog, or I'd tear you both to shreds for not doing what I asked."

"What? Is our little Sethy-poo afraid of a little competition from a dog?" Brady asked, using his pseudo-female voice once again.

I gritted my teeth. "I am not afraid."

"Sure."

"That's a most definite assessment of you."

"Don't you guys have patrols to do?" I felt, as I felt the vein in my neck throb.

"Off to it!"

"Don't miss us too much!" _Trust me I wont. _

* * *

><p>MPOV<p>

"I guess a trip to the pet store is in order." I said to Meghan, as I noticed Puka began to stir. "But before I go, how are you and Charles doing?" I asked.

"Great!" Meghan said a little forcedly. "Everything is fine. TOTALLY fine."

"Okay." I conceded, recognizing that she didn't want to discuss the topic further. "But if you need me, just call me, promise?"

"Sure." She answered, I heard her front door open with some footsteps. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?" She didn't wait for an answer before I heard the soft 'click' of her hanging up. I look down at my new baby boy, who was running excitedly through my apartment.

"I guess it's just you and me now, buddy."

People underestimate the challenge of having a puppy live in an apartment. I was up for the challenge, but between taking Puka for a walk every waking half-hour to train him to use the restroom outside and spending half of my new paycheck on all the items needed to maintain his care, by ten pm on Sunday I was absolutely exhausted. Thankfully Rachel had called to cancel our meeting to plan her nursery, since she had read somewhere that there was an investigation into the lead presence of household paints. Or that's what her excuse was anyway, and I could read between the squeals to know Paul had something to do with her last minute cancellation.

It worked out for the best, since as of this moment I couldn't leave Puka alone for very long, and already had made plans to leave work on my lunch hours to take him for walks during the day. Especially since I don't get much eating done during that hour anyway.

I missed having a dog around. And Puka further served to show how amazing my family are here. Emily offered to give me her crate from when her dog was smaller, and Quil offered to take Puka on a walk with Claire a few times a week in the afternoon while I was at work. These people never cease to amaze me.

I dozed off watching TV around ten-thirty, when I wake up to a knock at my door. I assumed it was Emily or Sam with the crate, and I didn't bother checking the peephole as I opened the door.

I almost fell back as I saw a heart-shattering grin greet me from across the threshold. It was Seth. He seemed both at ease and excited to see me, but I couldn't understand why.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, swiftly crossing my arms in front of my chest. He seemed to understand my body language, and his smile disappeared, his face becoming apologetic.

"Sorry, I just- um," He paused his words tumbling out of his mouth to quickly. "Emily sent me with this-" He nods to the crate in his hands, "to give to you for- uh"

"Puka." I answered, sighing exhasperatedly as I knew my gesture had made me seem defensive. Not the picture of a 'ex-girlfriend who's totally over you and your gorgeous face' image I wanted to put off. I motioned to take the crate from him but he pulled back.

"Uh-uh!" He said playfully. And I bit my cheek to keep from smiling at him. "I've got this, where do want me to put it?" I turned to look around the apartment. I couldn't remember where I wanted to put it, my mind kept wandering to the fact that his scent was overwhelming me, and I felt that I could just melt to floor in any instant.

"How about here?" He asked, pointing to the spot I had cleared out in the kitchen. _Duh, Madeleine._

"Yeah, that's perfect." I said. Was that a _breathy_ tone to my voice?

He set it down and nodded as he walked to the door. I followed him awkwardly, not knowing what to say in a situation like this. As he almost reached the door, I hastily bellowed a thank you, and to my surprise he spun to face me

I guess I hadn't noticed how closely I had been following him, because when he turned around we were mere inches from each other. He looked at me in the eyes and smiled cockily when my breath hitched slightly. The air had suddenly become thick, and I felt paralyzed as he stared into me. I heard a slight growl come from his throat as I felt his hands skim around my hips. Every move his fingers made seemed to be moving through molasses as if at any moment our eye contact would break, and so would the moment.

Chills were flowing up and down my spine, my breathing becoming ragged as I saw his face come closer to mine. It felt as if my body had suddenly remembered how to feel again, and I felt my chest swell with an emotion I couldn't recognize. I felt both overwhelmed and calm, and I couldn't form a complete thought with my brain for my life.

I exhaled sharply as his lips bypassed the side of my face. It was hard to concentrate on his words when the sensation of his husky voice hitting my ears made me feel physically weak.

"I think your phone is ringing." It felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over me. I jumped back, realizing not all of my vibrations were from our encounter, and reached into my back pocket. I felt so mortified I was actually on the verge of tears.

I turned away from him, hoping he'd take the hint to leave, and answered my phone without checking to see who it was.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Madeleine! It's me, I need your help!" It was Meghan's voice and she sounded distressed.

I quickly shifted gears. "What's wrong? What do you need me to do?'

She began sobbing, and everything that came out of her mouth was entirely gibberish. I began panicking, a thousand scenarios running through my mind, and I felt helpless. I took a deep breath.

"Okay, Sweetheart, I need you to take a deep breath for me. Ok? We're going to figure this out." I hear her raggedy inhale on the other side. _That's a start_. "That's great. Keep breathing for me ok? Now I'm going to ask you this first. Do I need to call the police, or can I talk you through it. Take your time."

I heard her take in a few more breaths. "No… Police."

"Okay, okay. Now, where are you?"

"Seattle Airport."

"Seth, you are not driving with me to the airport." I sighed, telling him this for the 300th time. I had finally coaxed enough out of Meghan to realize she had a horrible break up with her boyfriend, and she had taken the first flight out of Philly to come to Seattle. She was only slightly less hysterical at this point, so Seth had offered up his Bluetooth so I could constantly communicate with her.

"And for the millionth time, I am not letting you drive four plus hours to pick up your hysterical friend at four in the morning at Seatle international." He responded dryly.

I heard a sob over the line. "What's wrong Meghan?"

"That," I heard her breathe in heavily "is the most beautiful thing I ever heard. Why can't someone love me like that? Make sure I'm ok, and stuff. I mean I walked home in Philly all the time without one ounce of concern from him." She dissolved into sobs again.

"No, no, no honey!" I tried to soothe. "He's not madly in love with me, don't cry!" Her sobs became even louder. "This isn't love, this is _self deprivation_! His family would kill him if it turned out I got kidnapped on my way to Seattle! Just remember, all men are scumbags!" This last line was the only thing that kept Meghan from having a total meltdown. I had gone through this many a time with her before, and the only way she'd keep her cool is if she could keep her thinking that all men are horrible and have ulterior motives. Otherwise, she would become hysterical at the thought that all the 'good men' chose everyone else beside herself. I clicked the mute button on the Bluetooth.

"Do you see why this is not a good idea?" I asked him. "She's going to be out of her mind on the whole way home!"

Seth looked kind of scared. "That way, you can make sure she doesn't jump out of the backseat, and I'll make sure we arrive to and from the airport safely." He looked at me sternly, and I understood that no matter what I said he wouldn't budge.

"Fine. But I drive there."

"Okay." He conceded.

I couldn't help but feel a guilty pleasure as we sat in the car and began to drive.


End file.
